The order of the Mortal knights
by elnauhual
Summary: Chapter 35 : The world begins to know about the incidents of the town and the terrorist, and that brings a new danger for Dr Shugahara. Meanwhile Belldandy learns some shocking facts about her own world.
1. Chapter 1:  Palimpsest

******The Order of the Mortal Knights**

**A few words first  
**

_Welcome to this **Fanfic**. This is an exploration on the Oh My goddess Universe.  
_

I always have been fascinated by Urd. Wild yet romantic. Usually hard headed yet resourceful. A master on S&M yet her hearth could be touched by a children love. I wondered what kind of background could such a beautiful goddess had to become like that, so this is what I have imagined. Also as a nerd I wished to explore even more the blend of magic and technology from the OMG universe.

I hope you enjoy this, as much as I enjoyed writing this. Yet i must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (or outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now, then try to enjoy the Story.

**Introduction to this story:**

_This story takes place some time after the arc of "One Winged Angel" and before the Hagall arc. It has original characters and slowly parts away from the canon._

An scientist, specialist in ethnobotanics, has spent nearly 10 years searching the origin of some magic potions that he found in ancient manuscripts and have real healing properties.

In his search he discovers its origin is linked to Norse traditions and begins to suspect that mythology, legends and ancient Norse magic lore were created by a mysterious woman named Urth, he even locate an old drawing of the mysterious woman and she becomes his idealized love. In his search finally discovers a palimpsest, hidden for almost a millennium in a monastery, with her original writings, full of ancient legends, magic, but also incredible technology.

Our story begins when meets that woman from 1.200 years ago still alive and founds she is much more than just a woman. The plot thickens when he discovers that a goddess has been killed so he starts a search of ancient and forbidden knowledge, to protect his beloved.

This a story where magic and technology go together and the intervention of mortals can decide the fate of the gods.

**Some warnings.**

- Alternate Universe. There are some characters of my own and the story departs from Canon.

- I'm a nerd, this history has pretensions of being hard science fiction where advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

- The story may reach more than 25 chapters, and still is a work in progress.

- This is my first Fanfic! I hope to hear from you what you think about it.

- This story is written in Spanish and then translated. Please, let my know my mistakes.

**Thanks for your attention and join me in this voyage.**

* * *

_"_The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we _can_ imagine_"_  
_J.B.S. Haldane, Possible Worlds and other papers (1927)_

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual aka Javier Delgado  
**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.  
I do not claim to own anything.  
**

**Chapter I  
Palimpsest  
**

Dr. Kenji Sugahara was overjoyed. This was obvious to anyone who saw him in the hallways. The professor was a familiar figure at the University of Chiba. He was barely 32 years old and was already a respected academic figure from the university. His methodical and obsessive personality had ensured that his colleagues appreciated his work, despite the extraordinary nature of some of his ideas. His enthusiasm was so contagious that he often managed to make them collaborate with some of his more fantastic projects.

With a sloppy suit, a tie his students swore was an archeological find, and thick, old-fashioned glasses, he seemed the prototype of the absentminded professor from an old film. Still, his eyes denoted an intensity and friendly face and ready to smile attitude, that managed to attracted young people, even when they were not always able to understand everything he said.

This was because the themes that inspired his passion seemed inexhaustible. He had started his career as a botanist, but he added knowledge in the most diverse fields: pharmacology, paleobotany, polinology, ancient Germanic languages, proto Saxon history, ethnohistory, chemistry, paleography and, recently for fun, stereochemistry.

He also was already somewhat of a minor celebrity. He had discovered substances in old preparations with remarkable curative properties. The University was more than happy with the patents, but maybe more important, at least to him, was that some of his articles originally published in peer review magazines, were reprinted in popular magazines were they had attracted the general public attention. Then an editor had requested him to write a book, which had been a success. Not bad for a specialist in the esoteric field of "Etnobothanic studies of European traditions".

The doctor used to joke about his field of study saying; -I am the best in my field.-, he would say. -However, this is true because I am the only specialist in that field.-

His students, unfortunately, did not always appreciate his humor. To say that some of his jokes were old was to underestimate the issue. Behind his back, his students claimed that anyone who could understand his jokes was ready to receive a PhD. D. in linguistics of dead Germanic languages.

However, today the doctor, usually the epitome of Japanese sobriety, seemed to be so happy that he was almost at the point to jump and dance. In addition, there were also other strange symptoms. Besides hugging his laptop like a precious treasure, he also carried a paper bag with something that had a rather suspicious resemblance to a large bottle of sake.

And indeed, the reason for his behavior was stored in his laptop. All night he had been receiving a huge archive of more than 5 GB, which consisted of multi-spectral scans of an old medieval prayer book, courtesy of one of his colleagues, Professor Jan Krogh Danielsen from the University of Oslo.

Usually, an old medieval prayer book would not thrill anyone, but Dr. Sugahara was sure it was much more than that a simple prayer book.

It had all started a few months ago. He had sprouted another one of his crazy ideas. Sometimes, some manuscripts were only known because they were commented, or criticized in other books.

He had spent a lot of time looking for fragments of a special manuscript. The original was lost, but he had found many commentaries with fragments of the original text. It was very time-consuming. So he wondered if he could use a variant of face-recognition software to find fragments of the known texts in the photographs of ancient manuscripts and be able to find more fragments. If enough fragments could be located, a lot of the original manuscript could be reconstructed.

With his enthusiasm, he had infected some geeks at Caltech, and soon they had a prototype of the program. Then, he had another crazy idea. Instead of searching through the scanned books of libraries, he used the software to look for images in the web. After hundreds of errors and false positives, the software had reported something intriguing. On a university website, the software had managed find a page of a prayer-book from the Middle Ages, with a barely visible text containing a few sentences he knew were from the original manuscript.

The text had been scraped as if someone had tried to hide it, yet some fragments of it were still visible. The text fragment was...

**Urd Hétu eina,  
Verdandi adra,  
- Skáru to Skidi -  
Skuld ina þriðju...**

It was surprising. I would have never occurred to him to try to search for those commentaries on a medieval prayer book, but the automatic search software did not really care about the content.

It had been a remarkable achievement, so he was sure his geek friends soon would have many requests from other specialists. Meanwhile, the doctor was pondering if the book they had found was, in fact, a palimpsest. That was the only explanation of why a medieval prayer book had references to Norse goddesses.

That meant that some pious medieval monks probably had found some old parchments in unknown language and had decided to give them better use. It was a common practice. The parchment was expensive. They scraped it to clear the writing, so it could be cut and re-used to make a prayer book, which was considered much more useful, at least for their standards.

Doctor Sugahara recalled the Archimedes Palimpsest, and he thought that this book might be almost as important. The Archimedes Palimpsest had contained no less than four ancient manuscripts.

The doctor had a shiver at the thought of what would have been lost through the process, completely deleted pages, and destroyed parts, to turn them into a book, but at the same time, the process had allowed a monastery to preserve a pagan manuscript.

Immediately he contacted a colleague at the University of Oslo, since it was at the university's website where he had located the book. A few pages had been photographed, just because it was part of a lot that the university was considering to acquire. Then he heard nothing from his colleague for a week. Later, he received a long distance call from Germany. His colleague, Professor Danielsen, had abandoned everything to locate the book, which was still in an old monastery in Germany. After all, the possibility of finding the only known text written in Old Norse was a dream for any specialist in the area. He would have done the same.

And now, months after that, everything was here, on his laptop. Professor Danielsen and his team had scanned the parchment with the most advanced imaging technology in order to recover the erased text, and then, in gratitude for having the full credit of the discovery, he had sent him the entire data set, along with a cryptic e-mail:

**-Please, check File Ms. Add. 1879 use deep infrared filter, mixed with raking light.  
-Drink a bottle of sake in my name.  
-Remember your promise...**

**-Professor Jan Krogh Danielsen**  
**-University of Oslo.**

Sugahara smiled. He understood well the concern of his colleague, in the competitive academic world where the phrase "publish or perish" was the order of the day, to have the priority of a discovery was vital. Professor Danielsen well deserved the honor of discovery. In addition, for Dr. Sugahara, what mattered was the content, which finally could prove a bold hypothesis. Possibly, he could set the birth of an entire mythology at the footsteps of a single individual. And being able to prove this was his biggest dream. A dream he had been following for almost a decade, always one little step a time. However, this, it was a big step. In the meantime, he could wait until the publication Professor Danielsen's article.

Finally, he arrived at the library. He had his own cubicle at the university, but he felt more comfortable between the books, which he perceived as old friends. Thus, right in the middle of the European mythology section and, with the complicity of those in charge of the library, he had created a sort of cubicle surrounded by shelves. However, all the books were facing out so that no one had to enter to bother looking for a book. Being an academic celebrity had certain advantages, and it was a testament to his tenacity and power of persuasion.

Sometimes students could see some books disappear back, as if snatched away by a goblin. The only thing he disapproved of in this place was a modern 72-inch LED TV on the wall, where it displayed the news of the university. His attempts to persuade the graphic design department to change the modern graphic design to look like medieval stained glass so far had not been successful. But, he was sure it would be a matter of time.

Nervously, he put the paper bag with the bottle on the table. It was real sake. The best sake he had been able to get that day. Then he turned on his laptop. Fortunately, he was already familiar with the visualization software, so soon he located the files and fixed the parameters suggested. His laptop had to strive with high-resolution images, but finally an image appeared which had been hidden behind the scribbles of an old Latin prayer to St. Augustine. The doctor's heart jumped, and he could not refrain to make an exclamation of delight that was heard throughout the library.

Right there was this face, a face that had haunted him for years. He had seen it before in copies of other manuscripts. Imperfect copies, but the whole time he had still treasured this image in his memory, and finally here was the original.

Nervously, he scrolled down the image, and found some text, weak but readable:

**"Segðu mér, Fáfnir,  
alls þik fróðan kveðaok  
vel margt vita,hverjar ro þær nornir,  
er nauðgönglar ro ok ... **

Ah! that text!. He knew it from other copies. This version was slightly different, so he began to translate with care:

**Tell me then, Fafnir for  
wise thou art famed,  
and much thou knowest now: Who are the Norns  
who are helpful in need …**

Then, to confirm his finding, he searched for more and found some strange symbols. They were runes! They were not only the oldest runes ever known, but they were traced with an exquisite precision, almost as if a modern computer drew them.

Yes, now he was sure! Finally, he had found it! Instead of a few fragments, this was the original manuscript of the _Darraðarljóð_! In addition, if his bold hypothesis was true, it was in her own handwriting.

Almost a decade of research had finally borne fruit. Yes, that night to celebrate, he would get drunk as a Cossack as promised to professor Danielsen. No! better! He would get as drunk as a Viking!

He was overflowing with emotion. He could not stay sit and began to walk from one side to another of his "cubicle."

He needed to calm down. He decided to concentrate on his work. That always relaxed him. Therefore, he began to make plans. The first step was to compare the fragmented manuscript with copies that were made of it. Surely, it would have errors when compared with the original. That was a good idea, to relax. He had already written a book on the subject: "The Power of Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Viking and Norse Magic", where he summarized some of the manuscript fragments he believed were the book. Now that he had the text in its entirety, he finally could check and add the missing material.

The book had been an unexpected success, in part due what to what he considered a silly title and idea from the editor. The mere mention of magic attracted many young fans of the new age, Wicca, and neopaganism. Nevertheless, the real reason was because his passion on the subject made the book fascinating. Therefore, not only the book had been read and quoted to exhaustion, but also all copies had been sold

A side effect of this was that he now had fans. From time to time, he received e-mails asking him for more formulas, magic potions, tales, etc. Just a few days ago, he had received an e-mail form a girl who used the name, Urd. She asked him for a copy of the book.

- Urth!

The doctor pronounced that name with a surprising tenderness. He had been slightly irritated to find someone who dared to use that name, a name that was so dear to him. At first, he thought it was a joke, but finally after a couple of e-mails, he became convinced that the young woman was serious. At least, he thought, she was young. Her e-mail exuded a certain urgency and impatience typical of the young.

He informed the woman, to her disappointment, that there were no more copies. In addition, there would not be reprints, because he expected to have a revised and expanded version of the book. However, when she told him that she lived near the city of Nekomi, he had informed her that the University of Chiba was just a few hours from there. In addition, that in the library or, to be more precise, in the shelf next to the doctor, was a copy.

While he was a bit curious to meet someone who used that name, when she told him she did want to meet him he became a bit uneasy. Today she was supposed to be there. What she would like, a woman that wanted to learn the secrets of old magic?

Today was a very important day for him. The doctor only once had one great love in his life, and the chance to meet a stranger disturbed him. Therefore, he decided to put that thought aside and get to work.

The doctor got down to work. He needed to review several books with the known fragments of the book and some other references. He started taking some books off the shelves. He could not see the titles, but he did not need to see them. He knew them all like old friends.

Ah, first, he needed his book "**The Power of Oak, Ash, and Thorn."** So, he went and took it.

Suddenly, he heard a cry of protest.

"What the f..? Who's there?" - Demanded an angry female voice. The doctor stopped in surprise and then carefully peered through the hole where the book had been, before making an exclamation of surprise. He saw a pair of female eyes flashing with anger that grabbed his attention. But, it was not the anger that had got his attention. The real reason was that they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, and even the anger only seemed to make them more attractive.

The doctor was not very graceful in his dealings with women, but he was so startled that he could not refrain to voice a fragment of one of his favorite poems.

- "Closer of lovely eyes to lovely dreams; Queen of the wide air; thou most lovely queen of all the brightness that mine. Beautiful witch eyes, deep wells where my soul would like to immerse forever."

And really, no woman or even goddess can keep being angry to someone who offers a compliment that is said so spontaneously and so honestly.

-"Who is there?" - Asked the voice, still annoyed, but now without anger.

The doctor had been seduced by those eyes, so he began to remove some books to get a better look while he answered.

-"I am Dr. Sugahara Kenji , professor of the university of Chiba, and author of this book."

Noticing that the doctor was moving the books, she hid behind others, and the doctor proceeded to move, and thus began a game that the girl accompanied by a beautiful and coquettish laugh. The doctor moved more books for a better view, and she moved again. Suddenly, he had an idea and moved to the lowest shelf. He removed several books at the same time. Then he had a vision of two beautiful legs, barely covered by a dress fitting at the top.

The girl laughed at the teacher's movement and mocked him: -Ah, echhi Sensei! - And finally, she knelled to see the doctor face to face.

The doctor saw a beautiful copper-skinned face with strange markings on it. He recognized that face! He yelled

- **Urð hétu eina … Darraðarljóð**!

He froze for a moment with surprise and then suddenly tried to get up. But, he had his head stuck between the shelf so he struck with the upper shelve, then fell backwards and tried to stop his fall. Unfortunately, he also grabbed the shelves, and the whole bookshelf fell on top of him.

For a moment, the girl was confused and a little frightened. She was used to making an impression on men, but no one had yelled like that before. And there was also was the impact of those words. It had been a long time since she heard that language and that title. "**Urth is one named, enchantress**."

After the initial shock, she quickly went to assist the Doctor. She did some strange gestures with her hands, whispered a few words and the shelf was lifted a little, enough to get the man out from under the shelf.

With the aplomb of someone who knows how to deal with wounds, she examined him. He was unconscious, and had blood on his face. He seemed to have a severe concussion that required urgent assistance. She heard screams around her. The commotion had caused a stir throughout the silent library. She had no time for explanations. She needed to get out there and help the wounded man.

Then she saw the doctor's laptop, which displayed a picture. It was her image!

The surprise made her lose her cool for a few seconds. Hearing voices, she turned to see where the voices came from. She saw the hi-tech display of LED TV. Then she had an idea and made a gesture with her hands. The contents of the table began to levitate and went through the display where they disappeared. Then she made other gestures, and she and the doctor rose in the air, disappearing down into the display.

Soon afterward, many people arrived, but they only found the collapsed bookshelves.

(End chapter I - rev4)

* * *

**Notes:**

**- **I did not intend to have this section, but finally my inner **Nerd **won...

- **Palimpsest**: since the time I learned about certain texts had been hidden under other texts, they haunted my imagination. Later, my discovery of the Archimedes palimpsest showed me how many treasures may be hidden in some old libraries. If you go to the site of Archimedes palimpsest www_archimedespalimpsest_org you will discover some of the Techniques that the Professor Danielsen could have use to recover "Urth´s palimpsest".

- The book **"The Power of Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Viking Magic"... **was not written by Dr. Sugahara. I just stole the title...

- My apologies to the University of Chiba for any "literary" damages I have done to their library...

- My best wishes and gratitude to DynamicDuo 911, Charbonne and Hawkinsmith for help me to clean this chapter. If you find new errors, they are still mine.


	2. Chapter 2: Enchantress

******Warning**

_I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story._

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
by Elnauhual

Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of  
-Oh my goddess- by Kōsuke Fujishima.

**Chapter II**

**The Enchantress**

Keiichi had finished his breakfast, and was waiting for Belldandy to sit next to him. The aroma of tea that was being prepared fitted perfectly the moment. Belldandy was humming a joyful tune while she cleaned and ordered the kitchen. It did not mattered how much work she did, the time for cleaning always matched the time for the tea mix to deliver the optimal flavor. She neither need to think about it, simply, it was they way it should be.

Keiichi enjoyed watching her moving around. Like a well-rehearsed piece of dance choreography, at the same time it was so natural and spontaneous. He was delighted just watching her to collect, wash, dry and store everything properly. She always looked so perfect, so elegant and yet she finished it all in a quarter of the time he would have taken.

Finally, she sat next to him in a delicate and elegant movement. They had time to enjoy some tea, before leaving to their work at Whirlwind, the small motorbike workshop they worked.

While technically Keiichi wasn't still and engineer, he already had acquired great skills thank to the opportunities to design, play and explore he had in the workshop. Chihiro, his boss, had recognized his talent and was helping him to develop. Maybe in the future he would need to choose between this little workshop or to work for a big company, but at this moment none of this was on his mind, he just watched the goddess that lived with him.

Belldandy as a goddess, did not need to eat but enjoyed tea and have developed an art at making her own blends. There was perfect balance in the aroma of this blend, one of her specialties. This blend had sharpened Keiichi´s senses, since it was filled with Belldandy´s presence. He could feel the warmth of her body and the sweet scent of her presence as if they were part of the blend. It seemed that it would be a perfect day. He cast his eyes over Belldandy without saying a word, they were unnecessary.

When he met Belldandy for the first time, he felt awkward during those silences. He had felt like a fool with nothing to say, but now he knew that sometimes words were not necessary, so now he just smiled at Belldandy and she corresponded with her smiling eyes, then she rested her head on Keiichi´s shoulder. Keiichi smiled with pleasure, because he treasured those briefs contacts. Yes, it would be a perfect day!

Suddenly he remembered something.

-Belldandy, I noticed Urd is not in her room. Has she been called to heaven or something?.

By experience, Keiichi already knew that Urd disappearances were signs of problems. To Keiichi´s the disappointment, Belldandy straightened and smiled gently at him. She knew where his thoughts were going at.

- No Keiichi-san, this time it is somewhat less dramatic. Urd got up early today because she was going to Chiba university, there is a book she needs and she found it at the University´s library.

-Urd went to a library? To a University library?

Keiichi was surprised, since usually the only thing that Urd seemed to read were shōjo manga, although recently she had begun to use Keiichi´s computer to visit some Internet sites.

A couple of months ago, Keiichi had enjoyed a few moments of fun, as he had to explain the operation of "that primitive machine" to the Sysop of what was possibly was the most powerful computer system of this and other universes. Once past the initial frustration, however, Urd had mastered the computer and showed to Keiichi things he never thought his old model would be able to do. His battered computer was now unrecognizable after Urd´s "optimizations".

At his surprised look, Belldandy felt necessary to provide further details. With and innocent grin she said:

- You might have noticed Urd's potions not always work as planned- Keiichi gasped indignantly! More than once, he had suffered from the side effects of her potions, which he considered dangerous and unstable. Though he acknowledged that occasionally, they could be useful. - I know what you think, that all the failures are due to her impulsiveness, and that she does not measure consequences. That is not the only reason they occasionally fail. Since my childhood, I was impressed by Urd's potions and how powerful and precise they were. It was not until she came to earth to live with us that they slowly began to fail and become unstable. She has a talent for potions and she is very proud of it, so this problem has caused her great frustration.

-But ... Are there no books or whatever they use in Heaven, much more advanced than we possibly could have on earth?

Belldandy's expression got a bit more serious. Keiichi´s words had apparently touched a nerve.

-Keiichi-san. In Heaven, you will find very little information about potions. Gods are proud to use their magic directly, and for most of them, indirect use, like the using potions, is seen in a similar way as using home remedies on earth. Do you remember how Peorth messed one of Urd's potions? -Belldandy flushed slightly at that memory since that potion had messed wit her sexuality, then continued - She thought it was something easy to do. Almost all the gods think they know everything about them. I myself have hurt my sister expressing similar opinions, but I have witnessed the power of her potions.

Keiichi pondered a bit as he digested this information. There was one aspect of Urd that he did not know. After the passion she showed for her potions he thought they were very important in heaven, and it turned out that gods considered them trivial. Now that he considered it, her actions were actually very consistent with her lack of respect for the opinions of others. It reminded him of Skuld...

-But if the gods consider indirect methods as unworthy, then how about the Skuld's mechanical inventions?

This time, Belldandy close her eyes for an instant, like meditating, and then got closer to Keiichi and began to speak in a slightly lower voice, implying that this was a secret, since she knew that Skuld was near.

-It's the same with her inventions, despite Skuld's constant talk about returning to Heaven. I think she is really happy here because their inventions are admired rather than ignored. Please, do not make a fuss about it. She is very proud, even more than Urd. Now that Skuld is beginning to develop her magic powers, in heaven it would be expected she would stop making inventions.

Keiichi was silent a moment. As an engineer, he had at times marveled at Skuld's creations, but also he felt a bit that although she was able to build some of the most complex devices, sometimes they would just fail because of some basic engineering oversight. He recalled how his sister Megumi had entered a duel of robots with her, just because she pointed out some basic design flaws when Skuld rebuilt his motorcycle.

Keiichi was an engineer who loved the simplicity and elegance of design, something that requires attention to detail, always trying to prevent the unexpected. If he only could teach something to that headstrong young girl ... but, unfortunately, she did not have any respect for him and his "primitive technology"...

Belldandy looked at him quietly with smiling eyes. She no longer needed to read his mind; she knew which direction his thoughts were heading ... and simply told him very quietly...

-Just give her some time, she has more respect for you than she dares to express.-

Belldandy straightened and comment in a normal voice.

-About Urd, you do not need to be concerned. There seems to be a man, a respected teacher, who has collected many ancient potions. From references she found on the Internet about his book, some of the potions are very similar to Urd's. She wants to compare them, and meet the book's author. The author works at Chiba University, just nearby. I'm sure that will not cause any problems.-

Belldandy rarely had been refuted so quickly. Suddenly they heard a noise from Urd's room, and then a worried voice.

-Keiichi, Belldandy, I need your help!-

They got up and ran to Urd's room. They uttered a surprise cry at the sight...Urd was on the floor, holding a man with a bleeding head. When she spoke, her voice was anxious, but at the same time, certain of the situation.

-Keiichi, please help him into my futon and then bring something to wash his wound. Belldandy, I need you to do a healing spell, and I ... I have to prepare something. I do not think that will be easy to explain him what is he doing here, away from University...-

The commanding voice of Urd and the vision of the bloodied man gave no time to ask questions. Keiichi helped put the man on the futon, and then went to fetch water, clean rags and bandages. Belldandy approached and took the hand of man in order to feel and assess his state, and to learn what she need to know about the nasty head wound, but it seemed superficial. More serious was that a brain inflammation was in progress, and it needed to be reversed to avoid damage.

Once she had her diagnosis, she started a Healing song. This was something she enjoyed, as the human body's healing process is like a mob, reluctant to release their resources, often hindering itself, but under the effects of her song, the mob became an army, all body systems began operating in perfect order, and like an army, they could do their job in a fraction of time that a mob would take... the result, well it seemed almost like… magic.

Without a word, to avoid interrupting, Keiichi had begun to clean up blood and could testify how the wound started to heal and how the man's face went slowly from unconsciousness to an easy sleep. He inspected the man's head, and to his surprise, it would not even necessary to put on a bandage. He looked at Belldandy and smiled at her in admiration.

Keiichi, since it seemed that the emergency had disappeared, felt encouraged to ask Urd:

-Who is this man? What happened to him?-

-Oh... this is Dr Shugahara from…

-What? ...You mean, Dr. Shugahara Kenji! The profesor from the Chiba University! Did you kidnap him?-

-No! First, I did not kidnap him, I am helping him, and... -Urd suddenly stopped in surprise at Keiichi´s words -Hey! Do you know him?-

-He's a local celebrity. The Chiba University administration is very proud of him. His is a specialist in ancient remedies and healing plants. I have heard he has managed to develop or improve various drugs which are so effective that they work like magic...

-You say they works like magic? Oh! It seems that this man has many mysteries. Keiichi, I think you know more than me about this man.-

- Not much. I have heard he is also great scholar of Norse mythology and that he also that he has a highly disciplined mind that he uses to learn about many subjects with an ease many of his colleagues and students envy.-

Upon hearing the latter, Belldandy and Urd exchanged questioning glances. In the meantime, Urd had begun to search through her potions. But then she seemed to recall the words of Belldandy that her potions were not working well, and hesitated for a second before continuing.

Urd finally selected a couple of bottles and started to prepare something, but froze when Belldandy suddenly interrupted her song, and spoke with a serious and authoritative voice.

-Urd! What have you done to this man?-

Urd knew that her sweet sister used that tone of voice to get the obedience she wanted. Urd's mother was able to produce the same effect with an amazingly similar voice...

-I didn´t do anything, it was an accident. A bookshelf fell on him.-

-I do not mean that, Onee-sama, this man is in love with you, and it is not the illusory love of your potions, it is something ... something...- Belldandy paused, as she placed her hands on his face -It's something deeper... -She stopped speaking for a moment as if she doubted what she felt. -I sense a very deep feeling into his heart. He is filled with your image and presence.-

-But I have never seen him! I only know him because he is the author of a book about- She paused to think, -ancient potions ... and ... Viking magic?-

Urd stopped talking. She recalled something she had seen while on the laptop, which had darkened its screen in sleep mode, so she reactivated it and to the surprise of Keiichi and Belldandy, her face appeared on the screen. On a second look, it was a drawing made in an antique style, similar to the Roman paintings, and it was a younger face, like a teenager Urd.

Keiichi was the first to ask

-Where did that came from? And who did it?-

Urd replied, but her voice was trembling.

-I think I recognize that style. I once met a man who painted like that. His name was Fafnir, and he lived 1,200 years ago.- Urd's face showed pain at the mention of that name.

Belldandy also was surprised to hear the name, and after meditating she told Keiichi, somewhat abruptly:

-I think we should leave these two. Urd will have to fix some things from her past.- And turning to her sister, said in a serious voice -And please Onee-sama, do not hurt this man. He loves you very much.-

Keiichi wished to protest, but the determined attitude of Belldandy silenced him. It seemed that there was a family problem here, so it was safer not to intervene, yet experience told him that sooner or later, he would be involved.

Urd meanwhile, was left confused. -Deep love? From this stranger?-

It seemed ironic, but she who called herself the goddess of love, with one big exception, had only had affairs. This state seemed infantile compared to the love between Keiichi and her sister.

Even now she was aware that her romance with Troubadour had actually been superficial, and it had been a mortal child who had helped her to regain the illusion of a true love... but this man... and that image... Would it have really had anything to do with Fafnir? A name she tried to forget.

She leaned over the doctor, who looked peaceful with his old-fashioned suit, his hair cut in a conservative way, his thick glasses that made him look like a much older teacher. All the furthest she could think of a possible love. At least, she though as she smiled, he had a beautiful aura. Then she thought aloud.

-Sensei what should I do with you? If what my sister says is right, none of my potions will be able to make you forget, I cannot mess with true love.-

Finally, after much thought, she decided to use an energy potion to reanimate him, merged with another that would make him feel somewhat confused and gullible. This way she would be able to invent a dramatic tale. She gently opened his mouth and dripped in a few drops of her potion.

The Professor suddenly opened his eyes. At first he had a vacant stare, but suddenly he became aware, and rose up at once ... He looked at Urd with incredulous and wondering eyes.

-Where am I? What am I doing here? And most importantly ... Who are you?-

Urd winced ... it seemed the confusing the potion was not working. Indeed, these were exactly the questions she did not want to answer!

Then she noticed that the professor was really making an effort to stay focused, he seemed in the midst of a struggle. He was fighting the potion and was winning. His mind really did seem to be impeccably disciplined.

-Professor Shugahara, please calm, you had suffered a blow to the head, and you must be confused.-

The Professor looked around, trying to identify the place, watching and noting every detail.

-I am not at college, that is clear, it seems this has been the room of a temple, maybe Shinto. I remember there is an inactive temple near, I think near the city ... of Nekomi? Nekomi? Urd... you must be Urd from Nekomi... you wrote me that e-mail? Is this your room?-

Definitely...the potion was not working. Then Urd noticed the professor looked at her with dreamy eyes, and then the questioning words of that the professor made her tremble...

-But... could it be...?. Are you _Urth Hétu eina_? 'The one named Urth' the _'Darraðarljóð'_, the enchantress, who lived over 1,200 years ago, the woman who brought joy and dreams to the world, who wove myths and legends, and magic. The one who left magic potions and knowledge that was claimed as supernatural?-

Urd gasped, she had not heard those titles or that language for a long time, and besides that, they fit her description perfectly. Her plan to weave a fantastic tale to a confused teacher, it seemed that was not going to work... The doctor continued his description, as if trying to see what impact it caused.

-It was said she defended women and brought joy to children, but also she enjoyed the sound of the shields and swords in combat, the legends said, that along her sisters, she wove the fates of gods and men in a special cloth, and '_Sjá er orpinn vefr ýta þörmum ok harðkljáðr_'- the schollar suddenly uttered those words in ancient tongue while he watched Urd with curiosity.

By then Urd, or to be more precise 'Urth'... was doing a perfect imitation of a fish out of water... gasping ... yes she had written those words... _-The cloth was spun with the intestines of warriors killed in combat...-_

-Intestines of men? ... Ugh, no I would never do something like that...-

-Aha! So you also understand the Old Norse language...-

Urd realized she had fallen into a trap! Suddenly, the doctor saw his laptop, and then stared at her, and his eyes filled with moisture...

-I must be dreaming, you cannot be could it be really possible that you were one of the Norns... and ...-

The doctor approached Urd, and with great tenderness, ran his fingers over the marks on her beautiful face, but without touching them, as if he feared they would vanish.

-Urd ... How many times have I dreamed of being in front of you, meet you and hear in your voice those fantastic stories, filled with myths ... I ... I wish...-

Urd began to understand. This man was in love with... Urth, legendary character from 1,200 years ago. That young, impulsive, sensitive, wild girl... who had killed a man...That Urth she tried to forget, but this man seemed to know everything about her former self. She looked at the doctor, and was surprised... his aura had grown, sign of a very deep emotion, but she needed to stop it...

-Doctor, I'm no dream...-

Impulsively, Urd took the hand of man, who was shaken by her contact, and put his hand on her chest.

-I am a real woman...-

The doctor froze for a moment, feeling under his hand the warm and firm flesh, and felt assaulted with an unexpected wave of sensuality...The feeling was unexpected and he almost felt that his hand was burning, but he did not withdraw his hand...

Urd had to acknowledge that the doctor had a great control... she had almost expected him jump up and run away...

-You are real! Who are you really?-

Urd sighed. She had to make a change in plans, but what could work? Maybe she had to start with some truth.

-Doctor Shugahara, yes, I am called Urd. I am the girl who wrote an e-mail asking you to meet and get a copy of his book. I am a...-

The doctor looked at her; he seemed deeply disappointed ... and interrupted...

-I... I understand. You must be a young woman who wants to learn ancient magic. Like so many new age fans, you're passionate about it, you have learned languages, and you painted your face that way, and… and…

He turned to see the image on the laptop. The lovely face, the facial marks... the ancient language... everything seemed to match. But... it could not be... there was a struggle between what he could see... and what the reason told him. There was no way she could be a girl 1,200 years old...

-I wish so much that you were her... even when reason tells me it's impossible...-

Urd could feel the disappointment and confusion of the doctor, but this confusion was not caused by her potion but by his internal struggle ... She could feel and see his inner passion ... and knew that she was the subject of that passion ... She could not help but feel moved... and yet relieved. Apparently, the doctor was willing to convince himself, that she was only an extravagant girl...

Urd decided it was good time to find out more, and maybe distract him; there was much she did not know. She pointed to the image of the laptop and asked...

-Where does this image come from? Where did you obtain it? Who is she?-

The doctor sighed, trying to regain composure befitting a university professor, and slowly approached the laptop, watching that face tenderly, and then returning to see Urd's face. He doubted... yet he began to explain as if he were in his classroom...

-As far as is known, this girl, called Urth, lived in the seventh century AD, near what is now known as Jutland. It was a turbulent time, as the Emperor Charlemagne was expanding his empire, and was pressing Christianity upon on his subjects. He expanded toward the north; he conquered the country after country, and then…-

He paused, and then continued.

-The empire came to the border of a series of peoples we now call the Norse. They were pagan peoples, almost unknown to the people who considered themselves the most powerful empire in Europe and now they were face to face with that most powerful empire in Europe... Somehow, they managed to keep up their independence, and this young woman had something to do with that...-

Urd suddenly felt weak and trembled... as goddess she had been strictly prohibited from intervening in human conflicts, especially wars... But this man was telling her she was responsible for great changes...

-How she was able to do that?-

-That's the most extraordinary thing, she might not have realized what she was doing, and the details of her story are confusing. I have spent years following her trail...-

-Dr Shugahara … I know that Urth is a mythical character, a mythological goddess... you must be wrong...-

Shugahara opened his eyes, looked at Urd and smiled...

-My colleagues would have said that, so I haven't mentioned it in my writings. I have spent almost decade looking for proofs, information, data, facts, and I have finally found it...-

-I do not understand. That's only a drawing, what have you found?-

The doctor looked at the beautiful face of Urd, and into her beautiful eyes... then sighed and closed his eyes to continue his story...

-I... well, I never have told the full story- He gave a shy smile -I have a reputation to hold, but I feel that I can trust you, and I want to tell this to someone. Years ago when I was a young student, I found an old book about potions and spells... I knew they were mere fantasies, but I was curious, could some of them really work? After all, some traditional medicines really work and we have obtained modern medicines from them. Maybe if I looked into those potions, I could find some new drugs, so I tried those formulas and to my surprise, some of them worked and most important, they worked far beyond what it could be expected from the properties of their ingredients.-

Urd jumped with that simple statement, a mortal man ... making magic potions!

-So I looked for more formulas in ancient books. Most did not work, but I found a group of them that really worked very well. They used similar plants; I used my botanic knowledge to trace the plants and found most were Nordic. I also realized that the language was related to old Norse, so I thought the authors had used the same basic text for their writings. Gradually I found more fragments. A few lines mentioned in books, other fragments in alchemist's texts, found a few in legends and ancient songs. I traced the plants, and their use in herbolary and myths, looking for their origin; Finally I concluded they have appeared between the Norse, around the VII o VIII century.-

-It was long, hard work, I had to learn old languages, old scripts, ancient history, and customs, and ethnohistory. After years, I concluded that they came from a woman, a remarkable woman, who as legends grew, turned into a goddess. I can only guess that, maybe, some of those formulas had existed. She then gathered, refined, and organized them, as she traveled on Norse lands, healing and teaching, but also, telling fantastic stories, which then would become the seed of Norse mythology. Usually myths are based in stories and other myths, but in the VIII centuries, many myths appeared suddenly... as if were created... I think it was her... I am convinced; she created the stories of the Valkyries, the tree of Yggdrasil, the myth of Loki, the myths of Vanir, the Jötnar, the Álfar and the Dvergar and others. My colleges would have thought I was out of my mind, so while I wrote about the things I have learned, I never published my hypothesis.-

-I worked with other scientists to recreate some formulas, to be used as medicines, and they worked remarkably well, so I became a bit famous. Nobody cared about where my ideas came from, only that they worked, so I had almost unlimited resources to continue my search. My mysterious woman had captivated my imagination. I do not know how she created those wonderful stories, but they were not only tales, they had also teachings, and as she traveled, people of very different origins learned and they began to feel identified with the stories. So those scattered people, over time, acquired a sense of unity and became one.-

-I can imagine. She went through the villages, teaching women to heal, playing with children, getting drunk and telling stories to the men... Her beauty broke the hearts of men and many tried to force her, but she was also quick-tempered and it seems she was also very strong, so sometimes...- In addition, Shugahara smiled as he imagined the scene -she broke some other body parts...-

Urd could not help but laugh... yes, she had broken more than a nose and at least a few bones... She had been too young, to impulsive and willful, and could not bear impertinent men. The doctor opened his eyes for a moment, discovering that the sound of her laugh filled him with joy, and then closed his eyes to return to his narration.

-And something more extraordinary, she knew how to write. I do not know how, maybe she had contact with the scholars of the empire, though she did not use the Latin alphabet. She wrote using strange symbols that later called runes. There are no runes before her; there is no Norse writing before her. And she used something in that time was still unusual, a notebook.-

Fortunately, the doctor was occupied trying to gather his story, or he would have noticed Urd's agitation. She thought

-My note-book ... can he know about it? I was sure it was destroyed!-

As if on cue, the doctor pointed to his laptop and told her,

-And now I think I have recovered her notebook, and I have it here, scanned on my Laptop.-

-What! How…?-

-Oh... it's a tragic story. She met a man- Urd noticed how his aura changed colors... it looked like jealousy, Then it returned to normal - He must have been an extraordinary young man in order to be accepted by her. They traveled together, and he learned to read runes. I can only guess, maybe he wanted to use that knowledge to have her power, so he stole her notebook...-

Urd shuddered, slowly the words of the doctor began to fade, as the memories began to come and replace them...

**(End chapter II - rev5)**

* * *

**Notes:**

1: **Buddhist or Shintoist?** In the text, the Dr. comments it a Shintoist temple, yet in the Anime we see Belldandy polishing a Buddhist statue. This is not contradictory. For what we can see of the architecture of Morisato Residence in the manga, it has details and layout of a Shintoist temple and in Japan is no rare a Shintoist temple became Buddhist and viceversa, so there is no problem.

2: **Nekomi** is a fictional city, but it has been mentioned is in the prefecture of Chiba, so I took the liberty to move it near Chiba University. Hope you do not mind.

3: **Norn language**. This language also known as North Germanic; it disappeared near the XV century, and was used by the old Nordic people. It managed to survive in poems and songs until XIX century, but there are no known texts in Norn language, so is comprehensible why it the Dr. was so happy with a VIII century text. The fragments I am using come from the Iceland tradition.


	3. Chapter 3: Ghost from the past

**Warning**

_I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story._

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter III**  
**Ghosts from the past**

It was the year of our Lord 807, somewhere in the Scandinavian Peninsula in the northern lands of Europe. It was almost dawn; the chill of the morning announced the winter proximity. Here was path where the forest meets the rugged mountains. Nature had provided with a small shelter which was used by a lonely couple to protect from the wind, it was not really cave, but it was adequate.

The girl, who looked as if she barely had left the teen, woke up. Her beautiful face had a haunting copper tone and showed certain seriousness that did not seem to correspond to her age. In that moment, she wished to enjoy a little solitude. Although she felt fascination for humans, there were days she would have preferred to have no contact with them; sometimes they exasperated her, even Fafnir.

Slowly she moved away the man´s hand that still rested on her breast, and move aside the heavy fur that covered them. Urth left the warm skin and felt the cold of the morning against her body. The chill wind felt stimulating. The cold would have been intolerable for a mortal, but she was not. She looked at her companion whose body she had exposed, the man involuntarily shivered with cold and she smiled before covering him.

He was a fine specimen of man. He was not chunky but his muscles were firm. His blond hair hung down in strands over his face, framing his almost perfect features: a slightly aquiline nose and strong chin gave an air of determination and tenacity. Indeed, he was a man of these lands but there was something different about him. He did not have the hard features of the peasants, but an air of a nobleman, remarked by his well-cared hands.

She left some of the makeshift camp, looked at the horizon and saw the first rays of dawn then took a deep breath and felt the scents from the forest nearby. The strong fumes of pine oils, the shy scents of wild flowers, and the moisture of the earth, all mingled with the stench of burnt wood from the camp fire. She increased her concentration and started to distinguish each aroma. There were also tars, phenols and other scents. Those were the aromatic over notes, but there were other volatile compounds, weak but still detectable.

She started a soft and monotone song to have better concentration she began to recognize the scents of some small plants that were hidden by those strong odors and felt that something was calling her. She decided to go after this call. She walked into the forest. Her bare feet barely left footprints; it seemed as if she were floating.

She got into the woods and come to a big tree, nearby there were some small purple florets. Yes, that was it! She cupped her hands around the flowers to empathize with the plant. That was the small plant that had called her. She focused her senses and slowly began to feel their chemical compounds and finally saw something. There was a funny little chain of aromatic molecules, to her it seemed beautiful. She changed her tune and now could see on her mind, like an advanced simulation, the effects of the compound on a human body. Yes that was what she wanted.

Suddenly she heard footsteps behind. It was Fafnir; he talked to her with some resignation.

- Again looking for plants?

Without even turning to see him, she asked

- Did you bring my notebook?

-Yes, here I have it here. Also I have your clothes. You should not go like that in this cold; other men could see you...

- There are no other men nearby. Is it my body that is bothering you?

The girl stood her long hair of a pure white, was wrapped around her and contrasted to her copper skin, but this magnificent white coat did nothing to cover her beauty, instead framed it and increased her sensuality. The man could not resist and dropped his eyes as he felt his heart was racing. He cursed himself. She was not his first woman, yet still she did make him blush like a teenager.

Urth smiled, she was fascinated by having such power over men. They have been living together for six months and still her body did not fail to impress him. Slowly she approached Fafnir and took her clothes. She laughed a laugh as fresh as the morning and started to dress in no hurry. Finally she said to him in a flirty tone:

- You can see now.

She could not help playing with Fafnir, his white face easily betrayed when it came to blush and she like it.

She took the book, carefully removed the plant from the ground and started taking notes. Her writing was clear and precise, but she did not use the Latin alphabet or any other used by men. She used runes, magical letters with various levels of meanings. It was the writing Yggdrasil.

The finished notes contained: the components of the plant, its therapeutic properties, their magical properties and a lot of information, encoded with precision in those symbols. There, collected, were her notes of the last ten years. Not everything was about healing plants. She had written preparations to become strong or to have an inhuman speed; there was a material she called **oxigum** allowing underwater breathing, potions to be brave, or to make forget. There were plenty of mixtures, ointments, potions, poultices, perfumes and even simple notes about nature. She had not made them for some specific purpose, but only because they had seemed fun to make.

The isolation, the contact with nature, the freedom from Heaven´s supervision and from her strict teachers had resulted in an explosion of creativity. She knew there was hazardous material and at first she had hidden from everyone, including Fafnir, before she discovered he was a superb draftsman.

- It's your turn- said to Fafnir, passing the notebook and smiling to him in a provocative way.

Not without protests, Fafnir took the notebook, looked for his case where he kept his drawing materials and skillfully began to make a beautiful and faithful picture of the plant. This would delay their departure and he did not understand why, but to such smile he could not deny anything.

- Yet Another medicinal plant! Why would we need it? - As he looked with some scorn the humble flowers.

Urth showed exasperation. How many times the already had discussed the issue.

-What do you want instead? Something to give you immortality? Strength? Courage? Or other things useful to warrior?

The world needs great warriors, to defend ourselves...

- From other warriors? Do not we need also farmers, artisans, merchants? Finally, they are the ones that give food to the warriors.

- Warriors express the top qualities of the human spirit - Suddenly Urth put her hand on his shoulder. Fafnir turned to see her staring at her trying to impose his will upon her. But she was not like any woman he knew. On the contrary, she looked straight into his eyes, in challenging attitude.

- Why do men only think about war?

Fafnir was not used to have a woman questioning him, so he hesitated before answering.

- We cannot avoid war. - The Franks, under Charlemagne are conquering town after town. Widukind and his people had to flee and take refuge in this land.

For some reason to mention Widukind caused excitement in the man, Urth had wondered about that, but he had never explained it.

-The refugees brought many horror do not know what will happen when all these people got under the yoke of the empire!

- I'm not sure you're interested in those people. Haven´t you said you have dreamed of being king of these lands? What for?

-Would not you like to be queen? Having everything you want: to have servants, to have power...

Urth smiled, how could she tell him the title of queen was so childish to a goddess? Her years of being on earth had taught her things that seemed more valuable.

-Having the stars for a roof, the universe as a home, the perfume of the forest in my body, and... And handsome man who adores me, standing by my side. That's what I want!

Fafnir could not understand. Long he had suspected Urth had great powers, could not understand why she did not want to use it to get what he considered the greatest dreams of a human being.

- Come on, forget it. It's late and we have a woman life to save.

- Yes, another peasant woman who...

Urth's eyes narrowed in anger, one could almost feel the electricity around her. Fafnir decided to shut up and just put a face of resignation. He knew that if he did not press her more, she quickly would calm down.

Fafnir finally finished his drawing and went for breakfast. Fafnir as always, ate in abundance, Urth as usual, proved only a few bites but interspersed with abundant beer. To Fafnir seemed she only need beer to live. He would have been very surprised to know how right he was.

Fafnir finally picked up the camp and went to Urth with a ceremonious air and a cavalier bow.

- Milady Urth, we are ready to go.

Urth sighed; she had to accept she liked the flattering compliments of Fafnir. For the moment that vanished any disagreements. When they were not debating, this man made her feel good. Then she looked into his deep blue eyes, that give him a dreamy air, and his elegant movements and attitudes were very different from the simple peasants who lived there. His robe and clothes were worn from use, but still seemed more appropriate for a royal court. Yes, I she had to admit he was beautiful. She knew that despite everything, this man loved and followed her, whether he understood her or whether she was a living legend.

Indeed, nothing less than a living legend. I was too late to change how things became. In those ten years of living on earth she had create and woven myths and legends that show her in a remote and sometimes terrible way... So some of them respected and some feared her. To the world she was: Urth the **Darraðarljóð**, the sorceress who traveled the roads, teaching, especially women, to make better use of their old knowledge. To them their old remedies, now it seemed magical.

As they walked the path, she meditated on what had lived. Here on earth, she felt so free. In Heaven she had always felt watched, as if everyone suddenly feared that would become a demon.

She suspected it was because that fear that she was allowed left heavens to go to the earth alone, despite being a goddess so young and who had not fully mastered her magic. Probably it was due to her choice of seeking magical and medicinal plants, this was an activity they found so childish, and they thought she would not require a supervisor.

Now she felt free, without ties or responsibilities or almost. She had begun to love those silly mortals and somehow she wanted to help them. Also she had to admit that the feeling of being adored was fascinating. However she did not forget some basic lessons. Some gods had been lost in this fascination and had to be removed from the earth by force when they tried to intervene in human affairs.

So constantly she had to remember it was forbidden to intervene, but her rebellious nature pushed her over and over to probe the limits of what could be done.

For more than ten years, she had traveled along these lands, and in the course of those trips she had met with Fafnir. He said to born in these lands, but had lived and educated in the decadent Rome. He was beautiful, educated, intelligent, yet he did not like to speak about his past. She was not sure to feel something deeper for him, yet she liked his company.

But today, Fafnir was uneasy. He was thinking about the news he had received in the last village they had visited. Every day more refugees arrived to these lands. Driven from their homes by "civilizing" forces of Charlemagne´s Empire. Those people had lost their homes, their wealth, and did not want to lose their old beliefs, and their freedom.

Fafnir knew well the power of the empire. Neither these peasants, nor their small kings could stop them. They should be organizing a professional army. For a moment he imagined he could lead that army using some of the knowledge from Urth´s notebook to defeat the enemy. He dreamed he could stop the empire, even defeat it. Instead, they went to save the life of a peasant.

Hours later they arrived to the village. It was just a collection of huts, but for those people, it was their home. They saw a woman approaching them. She went directly to meet them. She wore a medallion carved with an elaborate design. I must have taken weeks of work of a craftsman. She lift it with her arms so Urth could see it, it was her way of identification.

- Welcome to this town, we knew of your arrival, the midwifes are coming, as requested, we also collected the herbs you asked.

-Guinda! Since when so serious, are not we old friends?

-My lady still remembers me? It has been almost ten years. You have not changed, you still have the same teenager´s face. Your magic is powerful.

Fafnir was surprised, did Urth really knew this woman ten years ago? Would this be another evidence of her power?

-And you, you have become a wise woman. You were such a rascal - Urth took her hands, she wanted to hug her. I am happy that you followed my instructions, but I'm also happy to see you. - The woman looked into her eyes, but could not face her directly. She had no doubt that Urth had magic that would keep her young forever. She was not like her. So she bowed her head in an attitude of respect and continued her formal speech, which make Urth a little sad. It appeared she could not have permanent bonds with mortals.

- We respect your, but I must warn you. This woman you are going to treat is not one that deserves your attention. No one knows who is the father and she did not want to say. Nobody would care for her, nor will protect the child. She has no hope.

A flash of anger appeared on Urth´s face, and the woman shuddered. Then Urth calmed down and she wondered how much she would need to change ways formed centuries ago. So no only she need to save the woman's live, but she would need to look for her future.

-I want you to remember these words: "All life deserves respect", we should take care of her. And I want you to learn and share that knowledge with other women from the sisterhood.

Then she took from her bag the humble plant she had collected earlier and handed to the woman.

-I want you to become familiar with this plant, separate the flowers and prepare an infusion. I will give you the order when you should give to her. Also get ready the other preparations.

Intrigued, she examined the plant. It was a humble wildflower that she already knew, but did not know it had any medicinal properties. But the Darraðarljóð in person had given to her. She could not doubt her word.

They were taken to the community house where the woman was. Just a quick glance was necessary to get a diagnosis. Like so many births, the infant's head was very large, and this was her first pregnancy, her hips had not yet open enough. Urth made a gesture of displeasure, she was not a woman, but almost a child, had she grown a few years, childbirth would had not meant any danger. Then she remembered the doctors of the empire would have done a Cesarean section. The child could be saved but women always died because bleeding. For a moment she wondered what was more barbaric.

He sat at the feet of the girl and began to give instructions. She would not intervene and would not violate her word. Sill she was determined to save the life of this young girl.

Urth explained the use of the herbs to relax muscles, some singing to reassure the mother and how to manipulate of the pelvis bone to allow it to open a bit. To these women, the whole procedure seemed like magic. Finally a sharp cry was heard. Urth had the baby in her arms, it was a little life, fragile in a terrible world and yet represented a hope, a promise that life would continue.

Finally, she left the room. In an opposite end of the village was Fafnir, probably arguing with those men on the news and rumors of impending war. Fafnir saw her and signaled. It seemed he wanted to say something. Urth was convinced there would be more news of the invasion, so she chose to ignore him and went to the center of the village.

There she met a burly man, his pompous attitude and his step firm suggested he was the village chief. He gave her a strange look. Urth approached him and said:

- It's a boy, your village grows.

But the man's response took her by surprise.

It's a bastard, why you saved his life? And she too, deserved to die.

Anger flared again in the Urth´s eyes.

-They are human lives. They are people from your village and they are your responsibility - Urth searched the man's eyes and guessed the did not need any magic to it

-Even, I dare to think that is your son. I know that this girl was taken by force but she fears to talk. You must be the father and you must answer for it.

The man straightened. He tensed his powerful muscles to show his physical strength and the put his hand on the short but sharp sword that hung from his belt. Then spoke with threatening air:

-Darraðarljóð, You will not insult me. I command you to go away from here - then smiled as he set his eyes on Urth´s body with a rough lust and approached her - Or you could stay with me, I am sure your refined friend cannot satisfy you as I could.

The man attempted to take her around the waist, but she simply took him by the wrist and with surprising strength, threw him back.

Fafnir in the distance saw the altercation. He knew Urth could not hold her anger and he had already seen the results. So he ran to try to intervene. But it was too late.

Urth clenched her fists in anger. It was not the lust of man the reason of her anger, she was used to that. The reason was his rejection of the little life that she had just brought to the world.

The surprised man recovered his balance, he felt humiliated and that increased his fury. He drew his sword, menacing Urth, but she completely ignored the threat:

-What kind of leader are you? If violence is your language, violence is what you will get!

She muttered an inaudible spell, stretched her arms forward and a glow appeared in her hands. There was a flash of light and the man was thrown against a nearby wall with a thunderous crash. The man lay there still.

The people gathered around the man and began to whisper pointing to him, but no one accused Urth, on the contrary, they seemed very satisfied. Apparently he was not very popular leader.

The man slowly began to move, he stood up and looked at Urth, but this time his face was full of terror. Seeing her coming, he ran to kneel before her and began and abject apology. He had heard many stories about her. And now he was convinced they were true.

Urth´s beautiful face was full of divine wrath. She seized him by the jaw and with surprising strength, forced him to see her face to face and meet her angry eyes. Then she said:

-Stop it, this will not solve anything. You must take care after the people of your town. You're a strong man; use your strength for them, not against them.

The man shuddered! This powerful witch was giving him a chance. Years later, he would tell many stories about his transformation

But meanwhile, Urth realized she had done it again. Soon a new warning would arrive. She had barely though about it when a blinding ray of light emanating from the sky hit her. She felt a shock, it was not the first time, but now she put all her will to prevent to be knocked down, and barely did it.

Moments later, she saw some symbols on the ground carved by the light. She read them, but already knew its contents. It was the last warning, if she use again her magic without authorization, especially against a human being, her license would be suspended immediately and she would have to return.

The impact left her stunned and she was about to fall when suddenly she felt the support of Fafnir´s arms. She made a great effort to recover. She clenched her fists in frustration, she did not wanted to leave earth, but she knew she would hardly hold back if something like this impetuosity was part of her and could not control it.

Suddenly, a small boy had approached; his eyes did not express fear but wonder.

-You got a message from heaven! - He Exclaimed. - Will the gods punish Gundir?

Urth felt still confused, but Fafnir came to her no one could read what the warning said. Fafnir bellowed with a surprisingly strong voice, making sure that all the people hear him:

-Gundir, you've seen it! A signal has been sent! - He pointed to the man and then to the symbols on the floor - Now go take care of the child: is your child; protect that woman, she is the mother of your child.

The man shook like a leaf before a gale and ran into the common room in full panic.

Urth took Fafnir hand and pressed it gently, as she smiled faintly to express her gratitude. Then she asked him to help her to kneel beside the child. Urth put her hands on the shoulders of small boy and said:

- You are very brave and I'll concede you a little wish. Tell me what you want? A toy? a spell?, a story?

The boy smiled in wonder and answered:

- A story, I want a story.

Yes, a story would be a wish easily granted, and then she said to other children so the gathered around them.

- Come, let me tell you a story.

She gathered not only children, but all the people of the village. They were amazed: first the Gundir had been punished and now they would listen to a wonderful story from the lips of the Darraðarljóð.

Urth was now smiling with some malice, her body still ached, but she was already planning a little revenge, she remembered the Valkyries, one of them she held responsible of punishing her. She knew they were proud.

-Let me tell you a story about beautiful women who live in heavens, and are responsible to reward brave are called!

When Urth finished his story, everyone was enthralled; she knew this story would travel soon around these lands. Already imagined what they would say in heaven: "Collect the souls of warriors killed in combat. Be servants of men!" How ridiculous!

At the end of her story, she turned to look at Fafnir, and told him:

- It's your turn.

That night Urth was pleased to hear the beautiful voice of Fafnir, singing a song she had created, about she and her sisters. She found amusing to include them in their stories. The song talked about how they would see for the widows and orphans, and how they would monitor people to see if they had fulfilled their obligations ... So Fafnir sang:

**Segi mjök Sundrbornar Norns ek vera,  
Thaer ætt Eiguer saman-t; add áskunngar eru,  
alfkunngar add, add dætr Dvalins.  
Thad koma Meyjes vitandi marg  
Theimer RÓ þrjár sae, und er þolli stendr;  
Urth Hétu eina, Adra Verdandi  
Skuld ina þriðju;  
Thaer lög lögðu Thaer kuru lif  
alda Bornum, ørlög seggja**

Of many births the Norns must be,  
nor one in race they were;   
**Some to gods, others to elves are kin, **  
**And Dvalin's daughters some.**  
**Thence come the maiden's mighty in wisdom, **  
**three from the dwelling down 'neath the tree; **  
**Urth is one named, **  
**Verthandi the next, **  
**- On the wood they scored, - **  
**and Skuld the third. **  
**Laws they made there, **  
**and life allotted and set their fates...**

Fafnir's beautiful voice and presence of Urth, the "Darraðarljóð" herself, who had seen connected with the power of the heavens, would touch them so deeply the song would go from village to village and from generation to generation. Saving lives!

Again Urth and Fafnir were on the road. More than a year had passed since the episode of the Village. Thanks to Fafnir, who had learned to intervene in case of conflicts, Urth so far had managed to contain her anger. Fafnir had presence and a certain quality of leadership. Slowly he had begun to respect these people and received respect in return. He no longer refer them as "those peasants", now they were "our people".

Urth also hard learned that anger was not the only solution and there were ways to avoid it.

But the situation was deteriorating. Refugees had begun to arrive escaping from the empire, Widukind, the Saxon leader and his people had been the first, but after him many more were mere pawns in politics, as Charlemagne began annexing more kingdoms.

The last one to fall was the neighbor kingdom of Nordalbingia, now the Empire was across their borders. The Normand King Godfred had begun the construction of the Danevirke, a large number of walls and fortresses and was organizing a great army; they feared Charlemagne soon would invade, without giving them time to complete the treat had come too quickly.

For its part, Fafnir had begun to understood Urth´s runes and was becoming more aware of the power they day, he insisted they should use it to gain power to defeat the empire.

Urth refused, she liked a good fight for fun. But war! That was too much. Yet she agreed to approach the border, where the armies of the empire began to accumulate. Fafnir convinced there would be diseases and wounded, people would need help.

Finally they came to a camp where the people recruited by King Godfred were being reunited. They had a core of experienced warriors and mercenaries, men hard and determined. But most of them were peasants and refugees. Urth and Fafnir knew that individual bravery could not be match to a disciplined army. King Godfred was trying to transform this crowd into an army, but time was short

When they reached the camp a cry was heard.

-The Darraðarljóð ... the Norn comes ...Urth comes.

Those men felt hope with her mere presence, they went to paid tribute to her. It seemed they expected she would throw divine rays to kill the enemy.

Fafnir told Urth:

-Listen, those people respect you, if you guide them, if you give them your knowledge, they will fight and you do not intervene, a lot of them will die.

-Death! Destruction! Why mortals seem obsessed with It.? I want no part in all this!

- You have taught me to respect the value of life. You have to act!

- I cannot do it, I should not...

- Do you want to have your hands soaked with blood?

Urth felt cornered. Help them? She have already received warnings by just hurting a bit like some humans. What would be if she intervenes in war? And do it without magic, there was not much time, she could taught them to fight, or have strategy. It was madness!

Madness? She stopped to think, she glimpsed a solution. MADNESS! yes, maybe that was the solution. She recalled one of her potions. She had not created it to fight, but it could be changed. She would give them neither weapons nor powers, yet something more powerful and frightening. I you induce fright into your enemies, victory comes easily. Then she went to think how she could modify her potion, what ingredients need to be tweaked, what need to be added, she was so engrossed trying to solve the problem, she forgot the possible consequences. Fafnir stood quiet, he knew better than interrupt, finally Urth spoke:

-We'll do something.

Fafnir felt his heart racing, had he finally convinced her? At this point he knew that she had powers she did not want to use, she had connection to heaven and that many of her potions had wonderful powers.

- Will you give us a weapon? Something powerful to defeat them, and then invade?

-No... Not really a weapon, it will be the madness. Maybe some will die, but I can prevent our defeat.

-What will you do? I do not understand!

-Something terrible and wonderful, I told you: I will give the madness. I will not say more.

Fafnir was confused, but said nothing, he trusted her. Urth looked around. She had remembered that around her there were human lives. The thought that they depend on her overwhelmed her. She also resented being pushed by Fafnir. So she decided not to tell him was she was going to do.

She knew the Fafnir´s feelings about her, but now she was not sure about hers. She liked Fafnir; he made her feel good and had spent so much she did not share his ideas and aspirations. She did not want to hear more about wars, invasions and revenges. That was not a path she would not follow.

During the following days she had so much to do. She tried not to think on the consequences. She felt strangely cold and distant from everything. She called the sisterhood and instructed them to bring plants and teach them how to proceed to prepare the potion.

Now she had to talk to the generals of King Godfred. That turned out easier than expected. Rumors had spread about and special magic to win and the generals had no other options available. Even if some of them did not think it would work, their men had so much faith on her that it was difficult to avoid it.

She met secretly with the generals. She explained them what she was going to do. They were incredulous, the plan was madness, but it seemed their last hope and agreed. If it failed only a small part of their army would perish, if it worked, it could mean victory. So they proceeded to prepare some kind of elite force. They asked for volunteers, but the requirements seemed strange, and only a few knew the reason: Only single men were to be accepted.

Fafnir immediately volunteered. He met the requirements and was sure he could be a good leader. It could even be an opportunity to excel and advance in the way of having his own kingdom. But to his surprise he was rejected. He was told that Urth had forbidden it.

Furious, Fafnir went to look for Urth. He believed it was because she resented being pushed and it was a kind of revenge. But she would not talk to him. She was resentful, but the reality is she did not want to risk his life.

A week had passed, women from the sisterhood had brought large amounts of plants and had prepared large quantities of a strange brew and Urth had forbidden tasting it. Her threats were so terrible that no one dared to do it.

Finally, the empire's army reached the borders. Soon there would be emissaries, demanding the surrender and submission of all the kingdoms of the peninsula of Jutland. They would promise respect but the refugees had brought another kind of story.

Urth the leaders to meet her again. For a moment she doubted her plan, but now could not turn back.

Fafnir meanwhile ran around the camp like a caged animal. He had finally convinced Urth to act. Not only she would not let him participate but also refused to explain. Fafnir had no doubt about Urth´s powers. He was already convinced of the coming victory and wanted to be part of it.

Now it was time to act. The enemy army was now only a day away. Urth meet with the generals.

Urth was preparing herself when her old friend Guinda arrived. She looked at her in awe and then told her the generals were ready and waiting for her. She thanked Guinda. She had instructed other women to put their best clothes and some kind of honor guard around her. She now needed to make a strong impression. When she left her tent, she could hear awed exclamations. The meeting was in a tent lavishly prepared. In the center were the generals of the army. It was a strange spectacle. They were tough men, hardened by war, but the now did not hesitate to follow the orders of this young woman, who almost a teenager.

This young woman of extraordinary beauty was her only hope and everyone had heard of her legend. And there was Urth, she had changed her road clothes for a more military looking attire, it was adorned not with jewelry but by the symbols the war. For the men she seemed like a beautiful warrior queen.

Urth that morning had come into trance in order to perceive the surroundings of the enemy army. So when she began to explain to the generals the enemy forces, it seemed like magic to them. Their spies had given some indications, and all match what she was saying. Now all these men, accustomed to war, had no doubt about her words.

There was only one final thing to do. She called her old friend:

-Guinda. Please bring the potion.

-Yes ma'am. - Guinda disappeared and shortly after several women brought several goatskins that were placed on the table, Guinda spoke - Here is everything. I thank you for what you are going do. My brother is among those elected and he thanks you for the honor

Urth turned pale on hearing the latter, but she could not backtrack. However, she felt her heart shrank, yet she need to address the generals:

-Here is the morning, just before sunrise the army must leave to find the enemy. Just before meeting the enemy, the chosen should take a sip, only one, of this preparation, and all the beer they can. The rest of the army, should attack the flanks of the enemy as a distraction, but once the chosen attack, the must step aside. When the sun reaches the zenith, they will join them and victory will be yours.

There was a murmur of astonishment. That was it? No battle plan drawn up, no grand strategy that all?

-Urth my lady, Is that all? - The men hesitated for a moment, but she only hardened her she said with hollow voice.

-Yes, that's will be yours tomorrow. Guinda, make sure the skin goats are distributed among men and that they know what they will do. Now leave me alone.

The men slowly walked away. Her confidence left them with no doubts. She had spoken, and they would do what she said.

Just when everyone had left and Fafnir entered. He had seen the preparations and was furious not to be part of them.

-Urth, what is all this? Why do not you let me join them? This is my chance to excel; I can show you I can be a leader and a warrior.

-I do not want to hear anything more about the war. I do not want to hear anything more about power struggles, empires or kingdoms. Tomorrow people are going to die. Whatever I do, some will die, if I do not helped some will die, if I help them some will die. This is not what I wanted. Can you understand?

-If you say we will win, I know we will, I have seen your power. We will get the victory with the knowledge on your book.

-My book, my book! I'm going to destroy it! Understand this, people will die tomorrow and I do not want to know more.

Urth then took a jar of beer from the table and began to drink. She just wanted to forget. Fafnir attempt to embrace her, but she refused.

Fafnir was confused, he could not understand her, and then there was the threat to destroy the notebook. He tried to reason with Urth. But it was useless and finally he left.

Urth continued drinking, jar after jar, until she fell unconscious.

The next day, Urth woke up. She was in the tent that had been provided for her and Fafnir, and it was past noon. He looked around, but Fafnir was not there. Then she noticed that his notebook was missing, and filled with rage. She began to scream for Fafnir.

Guinda appeared and was scared.

- Where is Fafnir! - demanded Urth

- He went out this morning... with the soldiers.

- What? But I forbade it!

- The generals decided that because he is your man, he deserved the honor of being chosen. They were sure it would be an honor for you. He left with my brother. He said he was confident in your power and asked you to forgive him, but he could not afford you to destroy your work, He also said he would return to show you're wrong.

Urth cried and felt to faint. Suddenly they heard a cry - The warriors are returning"-. Her hearth trembled and ran out to meet them.

There was an outcry, people shouted victory, the warriors returned with a strange look, the seemed like they had just wake from a dream. Many of them were missing. Only half of those elected had returned but still the people rejoiced. After expecting a total loss without Urth´s magic, to return half seemed a miracle that was attributed to the witch.

All around her were shouting victory, victory. But she heard nothing. She just saw for those who had not returned. Strangely the returning men had few injuries and only she knew the reason.

One of the warriors, whose face seemed familiar, approached her. He was Guinda´s brother. She had known him as a little boy, now he was a powerful man much taller than her, yet he approached her in awe. His hands were tainted with blood, his clothes were torn, he seemed tired, yet he was happy.

-Hail Darraðarljóð! We owe you the victory. We did not know how it happened; I only remember how the enemy fled in fear. There were much more men than we. I remember nothing. We drank your potion and felt better than ever, and then when I saw they were fleeing. Many of our men were killed, but most of those killed were the enemy. Your magic is powerful.

Urth shuddered to hear about the dead. That stupid man did not understand anything; she took him by the shoulders. She waved him and shouted.

- But Fafnir, where is Fafnir?

The man's face brightened with a smile, as if remembering something, then said:

- Darraðarljóð, please Take this. Fafnir ask me to give it to you - He gave her Fafnir´s cape, covered in blood and along it, was his drawing case, pierced by a sword. He fought with us, but was ill hurt. He also gave me a scroll with scribbles, but I lost it. Now we must celebrate our victory, he already must be celebrating with the Valkyries.

Urth picked up the box and shuddered at the sight of the blood, and could not repress a cry. She closed his eyes, she tried to remember his beautiful face, but only saw the blood soaked box. He had died, and just because her brilliant idea.

She felt to her knees, and began to sob. Why she had gotten into this? Why she had to fall in love with this man? Finally she had to accept it. She had loved him, but now it did not matter. He was dead.

Meanwhile, the soldiers began to surround her. They did not understand her pain. They owed her the victory and she should be happy, so they wanted to help her.

Urth rose slowly, a faint light of hope shined in her mind. Maybe he was not dead; Guinda´s brother only had seem him wounded. She saw the men around her and I asked them:

- Take me to the battlefield. There may be survivors!

The man refused, they were still confused by what had happened. They had simply left all the bodies and casualties back. To help the wounded and recognize the dead was a woman task.

Urth had a hope. She asked a horse and soon they brought her the fastest,

Urth rode the animal making it run at the fullest. The battle had occurred at a couple of hours marching so she arrived soon. The animal, at the smell of blood, stopped short at the edge of the battlefield. Urth was horrified. She had seen men killed by fighting and dueling, but she was not prepared for the gruesome reality of a battlefield.

Blood, mangled bodies, severed limbs, eyes staring at the sky, skulls burst its contents exposed, and above it all, the smell of blood. Urth's senses were simply overwhelmed by the terrible stench of coagulated blood. She tried to felt Fafnir´s aura, but the terrible smell alone overwhelmed her perception. She entered the battlefield and began to walk among the desolation. Indeed, there were many more dead from the enemy, but here and there, she saw familiar faces. The face of people who have been alive a few hours earlier and had drunk in her honor.

She could not stand anymore, and covered her eyes with her hands. She fell to the floor sobbing uncontrollably in the midst of such destruction. But then, her senses felt something. She could hear weak moans, coming from several places. She began to concentrate and felt faint signs of life, scattered across the battlefield. They were dying, but maybe she could do something for them, but there was little time and there were so many... One of them might be Fafnir!

Only magic, powerful and forbidden magic could save them. She knew the spells, but never had done them, nor knew if she would be able to do them, but it was her only hope.

Finally she got up, and stood resolutely. She started a very complex song, and slowly the elemental forces around her became crazy. The wind was blowing, the sky darkened, and she felt a rush of power flowing around her; it was an elemental vital force running through her. She did not know how she had done it, but was it working. She attracted more and more vital energy, and began to send it wherever she felt the slightest sign of life. No matter who was there, she would save anyone she could. She felt like burning inside, but did not stop. A bright cloud of electricity was around her. It grew until everything exploded. She could no longer handle that powerful magic.

She was breathless, exhausted and knew soon she would be punished, but could not help smiling at this, her latest act of defiance, as her mind became clouded. After that she knew nothing more.

Vaguely she remembered some Valkyries had appeared looking for her. After a brief but spectacular fight, because there was no way that a young and exhausted goddess could face them, she was taken to heaven.

Justice was swift.

Urd, Goddess second class, limited license as an observer would be suspended for 200 years. It would not be the last time.

(End of Chapter III rev 04)

* * *

**Notes:**

1)** King Godfred.** For dramatic reasons, I had omitted that it was him who first raided into the Frankish territory, provoking the ire of the empire. On the other hand, he prevented the Franks invasion thanks to a series of fortresses he built and not really because Urth.

2) **Norse**. Nothing is known of the people in the Nordic region before the eighth century. So to suggest that all that mythology was born in 800 is not so crazy.

3) **Widukind the Saxon.** He was the main leader who opposed the conquest of Charlemagne. I mentioned him briefly, but later he will be important.

4) **Oxigum**. This is a little trivia. In the manga this material is found in Urd´s potion cabinet. Those old enough to remember the Anime "marine boy", would remember this chewing gum that allow underwater breathing.


	4. Chapter 4:Potions and chemistry

**Warning**

_I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story._

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Potions and chemistry **  
**  
**

The line between the past and present blurred, as Urd´s memories and the story of the Dr. converged. Meanwhile, absorbed in his own thoughts, the doctor continued his story as if he were in his classroom...

- No one knows for certain about what happened in that battle. Historic records simply register a Normand victory. Legends do not help either; some speak about gods appearing, other about warriors acquiring supernatural powers. I can only say with certainty that Urth disappeared, and a new word appeared in the language of the people: "Berserk": The frenzy of combat. It was something so terrible that when the Normans launched expeditions called vikingr", they terrorized the shores of Europe from France to Byzantium.

He paused, he put his hand on his chin, had looked awed. He had spent almost ten years tracing all this. Above all, he thought about the notebook...

- And this note-book, the book of Urth, was not lost, but kept hidden. The sisterhood created by Urth, protected it, taking only what was necessary to heal people and defending themselves - He spoke very softly, almost as if it was talking of himself. - I have never told anyone about this. But they were also writing their own stories in it. Eventually, when Christianity was upon them, people began to fear them and weaved strange stories, the sisterhood was disbanded and finally the book was lost. At least I believed it was lost, but - And exclaimed triumphantly - I finally found it! In the form of a prayer-book no less. Its content was erased to use the parchment but we can restore it with our technology

Suddenly the doctor interrupted his story as he realized Urd´s profound confusion. He had no idea why, he could not know she was immersed in the memories of that battlefield. He became worried.

- Are you okay? Is there something wrong?

It seemed as if years trying to erase that memory just had made the wounds deeper. Now she could remember the beautiful face of Fafnir, she recalled the warmth of his body, his songs, his presence and then, the shattered and bloodied piece of clothing that had been delivered to her.

Suddenly she felt a deep anger, anger toward the man that awaken her memories, to this man who claimed to admired Urth, the young woman guilty of the death of Fafnir. She had brought death to the man she had loved but only too late had realized that.

She turned to the doctor. A dangerous fire was beginning to escape between her fingers, and then exclaimed:

-Enough, I do not want know more ... How can love and adore such a woman! She killed the person she loved.

- But Fafnir did not...

-I said enough! Why you delve into the past?

Doctor Shugahara had never been good at dealing with other people´s feelings. The idea that he was responsible of hurting this girl. This girl that may be the one he had idolized for so many years, it was simply unbearable.

- Please, the past teaches us many lessons, but you have to listen, it seems you do not know the whole story!

-I told you I do not want to know anything ... and if you really want to know who I am, I do not care. You are free to believe whatever you want, if you are so smart, Find out!

The doctor began to panic, despite her angry words; Urd's beautiful eyes were wet and seemed about getting full of tears. The vision of those wet eyes hurt him deeply, he needed to do something and words were not enough. She felt a deep need to protect her, so almost without realizing what he did, he approached and embraced her and gently placed his hand on her head so it rested on his shoulder, to his deep surprise Urd made no protest.

Perhaps, for the first time in his life, Urd was letting out her pain and frustration about Fafnir. She was a very strong woman, but holding that pain it only had become stronger with time. For a moment she felt how the beautiful aura of the doctor gave her comfort.

He was deeply moved. Although he did not know the power behind of the tears of a goddess, He felt that there was so much beyond his comprehension. Her tears have fallen into his shoulder, and as he felt the moisture, a deep and unknown emotion grew on him.

Slowly, although too quickly from the point of view of the astonished doctor, Urd began to recover. Her body trembled, and gave a soft sobbing.

Finally she broke away from him, her body still trembling and her eyes wet. Now she began to feel rather silly for the incident, but at the same time, she realized somehow this man inspired confidence, so she did not regret having let out her emotions.

Then she looked up and noticed the surprise and concern in the man´s face. It was an awkward moment; the embarrassed doctor did not know what to do so he just stood motionless, with his arms still outstretched and trying to say something. She could not help start to laugh with relief.

Urd was trying to calm down, so it followed an awkward moment for both.

Suddenly, a high-pitched voice interrupted from the doorway.

-Urd! It's time to see my TV show, we agreed today was my turn. You were not supposed to be here today!

The doctor was facing against the door, so he had to turn to see who was there. He saw a girl on the verge of adolescence, dressed as any girl her age, but in her face there were some color marks. Marks that the doctor recognized, so he could not help but exclaiming.

- Skuld?

The girl looked surprised at the unexpected visitor, she also had recognized him!

- Dr. Shugahara Kenji? What are you doing here?

Urd's surprise was so great that she forgot her previous embarrassment.

- Skuld? Did you know him too? First Keiichi and now you!

- Urd! If only you watch more than soap operas! - Then she spoke to the doctor with a certain reverence

- Are you really Dr. Shugahara? - Skuld´s reticence was understandable. With his suit rumpled and stained with blood, and his hair uncombed, he was not the respectable doctor who had appeared on television.

- I saw you last week at my favorite show "Technology News". I was impressed. I don´t know much about medicines, but they were explaining you are revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry.

Somehow this was the last drop that spilled the glass. Today he had appeared in a strange place, with a woman who could be, not only 1,200 years old but also a goddess, then for the first time he had dared to embrace a woman, a very beautiful and sensual woman and of course, there was also the potion Urd had given to him to confuse his thoughts.

Now another "goddess", at least by her mars, had appeared in the image of a teenager and nothing less than the Norn of the future, Urd´s sister. But this girl was not talking about ancient potions but about technology.

Anyway, now he suddenly felt ridiculous at this technologically informed girl. He attempted to straight his suit and recovers some dignity. Then he decided he needed to be presented formally. He approached the young girl, made an elegant bow and without realizing what he was doing, began one of the most beloved ritual for the Japanese. The interchange of _Meishi,_ the presentation cards.

- Skuld-San, Allow me to introduce myself.

He pulled a small stylish leather case from his pocket and took out a sober card. Then with both hands he offered the card.

Skuld was fascinated, doctor Shugahara, a television celebrity, was referring to her with the title "San" instead of using "Chan" that is used with children and that she loathed. Also, he was offering a presentation card like she were and adult and a colleague!

Skuld made an exaggerated bow; she took the card and read it aloud:

- _Chiba University, ethnobotanic studies, Dr. Kenji Shugahara_

He was happy to participate in the ritual, but suddenly she panicked. Where were her cards?

She began to draw from her pockets an incredible amount of things: microcircuits, tools, resistors, coils, cables, connectors, couplings etc. If the doctor felt some surprise at the astonishing array of objects, he was too polite to express it. That would be a gross discourtesy and waited patiently. Even if the other part had not the proper etiquette, he still must respect it.

Skuld finally located the card... in the case of a **CD-ROM**! She blushed when compared with the elegant case the doctor had, but still the ritual should continue.

Meanwhile Urd had almost panicked; she was behind Dr. Shugahara and was signaling Skuld trying to prevent the delivery of the card. But Skuld was very excited at the prospect to participate in an adult activity.

She stored the doctor´s card ... in the CD-ROM case! since she had no other place. The she took her own card, it was a bit battered, then she hesitated and paused wondering how to proceed. She remembered how the Dr. had done, so she took it with both hands to give it to him. Doctor Shugahara received with the formality expected from a university professor, so Skuld felt a new wave of pleasure. Then the Doctor read aloud.

- _Goddess Skuld Second Class, restricted: In training_

If he had felt any surprise for the content of the card, he took care not to show it.

As required by etiquette, he proceeded to place the card in his leather case, right in the first place signaling it was important for him. Skuld felt full of joy, it was the first time someone treated her as an adult. She took a peek at the doctor´s case and noticed that Urd´s card was not there.

Meanwhile Urd had come to cover his eyes, she did not want to see more.

- Sensei, you are very kind, is a great honor to meet you in person. Did my sister give you her card?

- No, I did not have that pleasure.

- Oh! Surely she misplaced them because "SHE" has no one to give them: "Urd, goddess second class" ... bah!

Spite the strange words and her business card as a goddess, doctor Shugahara was relieved. Skuld's attitude was not very different from many girls. His experience as a teacher told him she had spent too much time surrounded by adults who treated her like a child.

Just then, something caught his attention. Among all the material that Skuld had thrown to the floor there was something that seemed familiar.

He bowed as an apology and then lifted the object. It was a tight circuit, full of orderly and repetitive elements precisely ironed. One could tell it was done with rejected parts, yet the implementation and construction showed a great skill.

- Did you make this?

- Yes, but does not work, - Said in a defensive tone- I have only garbage and old parts to build my circuits.

- You did it with pieces of scrap! - Said the Doctor in surprise- I'm not expert but this looks the circuits of an advanced neural network!

Skuld jumped for joy on hearing the doctor's guess.

- Sensei, do you know about cybernetics? Yes, it´s a circuit for a neural network. But I could not make it work; it has too many defective components.

- I am sorry, by training I'm just a humble botanist, but I have seen something similar in the laboratory of Dr. Kapaau.

- Dr. Kawazu? Do you mean Dr. Izuka Kawazu? Founder of the Fuzzy Logic Institute? He is my idol!

The doctor noted with admiration the passion of the young girl. He would have liked to have more students like her. He made a gracious bow and said in all seriousness:

- Skuld-san, I you approve, I would like show this to Dr. Kawazu. I think he would like to know a young woman as talented as you.

- Skuld face went pale! She was excited at the idea that Dr. Kawazu could see her work. But this was just a bunch of circuits that did not work She put her hands behind her back, looked at the floor while moving her foot from side to side. She tried to speak to the Doctor, not daring to look at him.

- Sensei, but it's just made of trash, it does not work and it´s not finished and...

- Dr. Kawazu is a professional, he will understand the circumstances. Do I have your permission?

-Yes, she said timidly, not daring even to look.

Then the girl, made a dozen of exaggerated bows and ran, unable to contain her excitement, Urd was ready to accept the doctor would know everything, approached him and said:

- You're a weird man. That is an achievement. It´s the first time Skuld calls Sensei anyone.

Dr. Shugahara looked at her with surprise, and said with a chuckle:

- Weird?

He laughed at the idea, as he began to recover his sense of humor. Everything had happened so fast, the series of experience of that day had simply overwhelmed his analytic capacity, his brain simply had switched to "data gathering mode" so he had just stopped asking questions.

But even if all was very confusing he found very funny the claim. Then began to count with his fingers, while walking along the room saying:

-Let's see. First, it seems I had an accident, looking at the rags there and the blood on my suit it seems it was serious, but I feel no pain nor do I have any bandage.

-Two, Instead of taking me to the hospital, somehow you brought me to your room in an old temple, at least one hour away from the university.

- Three, Who are you? As it seems you may be Urth, "Goddess second category" whatever that means and at least 1,200 years old. Or you could be a fan of ancient magic who likes to do "cosplay."

- Four, your sister Skuld has the same name and marks as the youngest of the Norns from Norse mythology and she even gave me her card.

- Five...

The doctor was cut short. During his recount, he had been walking around the room, when he came to the cabinet where Urd kept her ingredients and potions.

He stopped astonished looking cabinet with the most fantastic facial expression that could be imagined in a sober college professor, Urd could only think of an analogy. A child when enters for the first time in a candy store.

- What is this?

And to Urd´s horror, he began to take out some of the ingredient jars.

-Doctor! do not touch that!

She was about to go to take away the jar he had in his hand, when she noticed all the care and respect he put in his actions. He examined them with an expert eye, taking care not altering the ingredients. So she stooped and looked to him with curiosity, he seemed to know what he was doing.

He reviewed the contents. In some cases he opened the lid slightly to give a cautious sniff, but with the care an expert chemist takes when dealing with an unknown substance. Urd had written in the tags in code to prevent Skuld manipulate them yet he was identifying the ingredients without any problem:

- _Tropical frog Powder, iguana eggs, Hamamelis, Amanita muscaria, Galanthus woronowi, Taxus baccata, Mandragora officinarum_...

Urd did not like anyone to touch her ingredients, but she was impressed with the respect doctor Shugahara put on his exam.

- Please Doctor. Be careful with my ingredients.

The doctor was so excited he did not listen to her but finally stopped and exclaimed.

-What a great collection of ingredients and materials. This material is perfectly chosen to have all the essentials for any complex magical potion. The ingredients have been purified and preserved with the utmost care. Everything is perfectly organized and selected. - He turned to look at Urd. - I'm impressed!

Any anger Urd still had disappeared with such statement. It was the first time someone had praised her for her passion: the potions. And noting the doctor's attitude, he seemed to be a very difficult person to impress.

Then the doctor took half a dozen ingredients and put them on the table Urd used for her experiments. He began to examine them more carefully than the others. Suddenly, Urd was horrified when he stuck a finger on one vial and tasted it! She screamed!

- No! Stop! This compound is very dangerous!

The doctor slowly turned around to see her. Maybe too slowly, he seemed to be enjoying it. It was obvious that nothing had happened, but he had the face of a child who had just committed a prank. As an expert knew never had to taste an unknown substance, but his curiosity had won. A little embarrassed commented:

- Yes, I know, this is a concentrate from a small purple flower found at the foot of some trees on the Scandinavian Peninsula. They call it: Urd´s flower - he looked at Urd´s eyes and commented in admiration: - This beautiful flower has your eyes color! - Then continued as he had said nothing- Well, normally it should have a very special compound, a hydroquinone with a beautiful chain of aromatic molecules.

He thought for a moment, while analyzing the taste of the compound, and then, with a perfectly professional air, presented his diagnosis.

-Urd, you have a problem. Some of your potions do not work.

- What? What the f..? How do you know?

Doctor Shugahara gave her the vial he had taken, and said:

- Plants change over time, they have to constantly adapt to the environment and therefore evolve and change. Some time ago this plant changed so it no longer has the exact compound you need.

Urd looked thoughtful, then she took the vial, smelled it carefully, she could smell the aroma of the substance. It should be there! And said to the doctor.

- You are wrong; I can feel its presence.

- Do you feel it? But no, it is not the same substance, it´s very similar. It is an isomer; it´s has the same chemical composition, but has a different shape.

- Prove it!

Shugahara kept thinking for a moment, then looked at Urd and asked.

- I suppose you know the formula for making solid smoke?

- Of course I know it. I invent.!.. Err, I mean, I know it. But why should we need it?

- It is a very simple reaction, only two ingredients, but is very sensitive. I use it as a test to determine purity.

Urd kept thinking for a moment. She was used to using only her senses; the idea of a simple reaction to test purity seemed very clever.

- Okay, We will do this test.

Under the curious gaze of the Doctor, she began to take out some of her laboratory implements. Some porcelain capsules, glass rods, lab spoons, distilled water, etc. The doctor smiled with approval, he could tell she was used to work with them.

Urd took one of his vials of substances, with a teaspoon extracted a few crystals and placed them in a porcelain dish, then put the flower extract, and with the glass rod, added a few drops of distilled water. She waited but nothing happened.

Urd said rudely:

- _Thit Helleur nam i go!_

Shugahara smiled at that old Viking curse. He had uttered something similar when he discovered the extract did not work. Meanwhile, fire had glowed in Urd´s eyes. This compound was critical to many potions. It amplified their magical properties.

- Well doctor, it seems you are the expert, what solution do you have?

- Then the doctor brought out another small case from his pocket. It was made of metal and contained several small vials with different compounds. He used them to do some demonstrations, he choose one vial and offered it to Urd.

- Please try this.

Intrigued, Urd took the small vial. Opened it and sensed a familiar scent that made her hand trembled because emotion, she proceeded to repeat the test.

This time, it began to raise a cloud of iridescent smoke, which then froze and petrified as if time had stopped.

Urd was surprised by the reaction, so she took the two vials, one in each hand. She concentrated to sense them. They appeared to be the same substance. Then she remembered the words of the doctor about the molecular shapes. She closed her eyes and began to hum a little tune to concentrate deeper. Soon she was able to perceive the molecules. They looked identical or nearly so. Then she saw it. One of them was the mirror image of the other! It was inverted!

- _Móður serðilland skotinn!- _Exclaimed angrily.

She opened her eyes and uttered several other curses the doctor chose not to translate.

- The solid smoke is perfect. This substance is very pure.

The doctor said a little absently, as he had done to correct a student...

- It not really smoke, it is an Aerogel.

- What?

-An Aerogel - Repeated the doctor, pointing to the smoke. That is an Aerogel. At NASA they are using it to capture micro-meteorites in artificial satellites.

She grabbed the doctor and said angrily:

- Doctor! I do not care if they are using it as toilet paper, where did you get this? I'm willing to go to the more remote and distant place to get it.

The doctor found her beautiful in her anger; he preferred that than to see her on the verge of tears. Then began to laugh, but had to hold it when realized Urd was getting more furious, so he tried to hold his laughter to be able to talk.

-Yes, it comes from a very remote and exotic place.

- Where from?

- From the botanical garden of Chiba University.

- What, Where? Doctor, I'm not kidding, I...

This time, seeing her reaction, the doctor could not help but laugh, and Urd realized it was not a joke, still she could see how ridiculous it sounded: Chiba: "such as a remote and exotic place". She could not help, but laugh with him. They looked like a couple of teenagers after a joke.

Finally, the doctor could stop. Took a deep breath and assumed a certain pose, indicating he meant to say something important.

- With pleasure I can provide you with all the materials you want. I just want to put a small price.

- Price? Urd asked with curiosity?

The doctor looked at the floor. He looked like a children who had just committed a prank and then a bit nervously he look at Urd and said:

- That you allow me to see you again.

This time it was Urd who started to laugh, as the doctor could not avoid blushing. Finally she stopped at realizing the doctor's contrite look. She said.

- Deal, Doctor, I began to sympathize with you. Then she looked at the other vials on the table and asked: - And those other ingredients. Why did you take them? is there anything wrong with them?

-I am not sure yet, but I suspect it. Did you bought some of these materials with a provider of _aryuvedic_ medicine?

- Yes, there are only a few sources to choose when you need curative and magical plants ... why you ask?

The doctor made a gesture of profound disgust.

-I did at first, but in many of those providers I detected contamination of heavy metals, particularly lead, and several fake ingredients.

Urd took one bottle carefully examine it and exclaimed:

- _Madar kharbeh, kos-khol, Amal, Khar! ... - _and other curses that even the doctor could not understand, but he was sure she was describing someone´s genealogical tree. The doctor smiled looking at her since he shared the sentiment. He pointed to his little case and commented:

-That's why I started growing my own plants with the help of my colleagues, who sent me samples and seeds from all over the world. I was able to select and breed between different mutations in order to recover their ancient properties.

Urd looked with more respect to the Doctor.

- This should be a work of...

- Years. Yes, it took me years to recover the original ingredients.

- Then you must value them.

- They are more valuable if I can share with someone who understand have medicinal properties which have gained me a certain others have very strange properties and I suspect your one of the few people who understand what they are.

The doctor was interrupted by a loud growl coming from his stomach. It made him blush but the stomach does not know about etiquette or good manners.

Urd was taken aback. She had already forgotten that humans need to eat at regular intervals. But she had no food to offer and Belldandy was not at home.

-Excuse me doctor, but my sister is not home and she is the only one who can cook.

Among all he had heard on that day, this statement was what most surprised the doctor! He came from a very traditional family and the idea of a woman who did not know cooking was almost incredible, but the doctor always played the cook part in the expeditions he had participated, so he tough he could prepare something to eat in this place.

- If your sister does not bother, I could prepare some food for both.

- Doctor, really is not necessary; I do not need to eat.

-Please. I insist. You do not need to fear my cooking.

- No doctor. Is just that I am not used to ea...

- I insist. I can prepare food. - Urd realized that the doctor was considering his refusal to eat, as an insult to his culinary skills, so she chose to compromise.

- Well doctor, you win, please follow me.

Doctor Shugahara came into the kitchen and was surprised. As Urd potions and ingredients were perfectly organized, this kitchen also showed an organized mind with a great aesthetic sense. He felt the order and harmony and even a sense of inner peace.

He took a moment to sense the place then went to look after the ingredients and materials to begin to prepare a light lunch. This man put his full commitment in everything he did, so he also showed great skill at cooking.

- Doctor. I'm surprised; I did not expect a sober university professor knew how to cook.

- I have lived alone for a long time, and when you go on expeditions to remote places, you need to learn to cook under any circumstances; of course those circumstances never look like this...

He pointed the well-ordered kitchen.

- Expeditions? Where?

- The last was to the Amazon jungle in search of Amasina, a shaman from the Kwamalasamutu community. He had some unknown plants to show us. We gave him antibiotics and showed him some plants that we already knew but were new for him. In return he gave us several new plants and a recipe.

- A recipe? For cooking what?

- Eh! Baked Tarantula. They consider them a delicacy. -The doctor laughed warmly - But I confess it was hard for me to give it a try. But I had no choice or I would have offended my host. Finally I discovered that it tasted no different from crab.

Urd could not help but laughing with the doctor, trying to imagine the scene. The doctor was showing he was a very interesting person.

Fortunately the kitchen was well stocked, the doctor finally offered Urd a traditional miso soup, and some portions of yaga and ohitashi niku.

Urd looked curiously at the doctor's work, for a moment she recalled another man who had cooked for her, but the doctor misunderstood her curiosity.

- Or would you prefer to taste my baked tarantula?

Both laughed at the suggestion and proceeded to eat. It was not the **haute cuisine** of Belldandy, but the doctor really had his style.

When they finished, the doctor proceed to leave the kitchen as spotless as he had found it.

Soon they were back at Urd's room or as she called "Urd´ castle", where they began a heated discussion on how to detect heavy metal contamination in the other ingredients.

Used to go to expeditions in the jungle, the doctor always carried along a small kit to analyze water pollution, Urd preferred using her wonderful senses. Soon they began to compare their methods and both were mutually impressed.

- With these reagents even a child could do the analysis.

- That is exactly the purpose, a simple and standardized method. I must say I am very impressed how you are able to detect tiny changes of color.

But while his enthusiasm seemed inexhaustible, his body began to feel the toll and suddenly he began to feel tired.

- Sorry. I think I need to sit down. I already had too many emotions together and a there are a lot of things I do not understand.

He sat down while trying to relax a bit.

Urd felt sympathy and offered help - Doctor do not worry, I will make one of my special potions to restore your energy. I promise you will feel better.

- Urd turned to look for some of her special energetic potions to give the doctor, but then she noticed the paper bag. She could see the neck of a bottle and a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

- Doctor, that bottle. Did you intended to celebrate something?

- Ah yes. I promised Professor Danielsen that I would get drunk today.

The doctor issued the statement in the same tone that he would say if he were going to have a vaccine. It was something he had to do, like it or not.

Urd took the bottle and whistle to see the brand:

- **Daiginjo-shu**? This is very good stuff. Do you mind if I join you?

- Join me? Ah, doing what?

- To drink alone is very boring.

The doctor was not sure if he had understood well. But the prospect of getting drunk along with a beautiful woman, suddenly make drinking very attractive.

- Oh! ... Ah! ... eh!. Yes, I would be delighted. As queen Geirhild said, _"Faþer vár es ert í himenríki, verði nafn þitt hæilagt"!_

Urd froze for a moment in surprise and then started an uncontrollable laughter

The doctor looked surprised at that marvelous effect. It was the first time someone had actually laughed at one of his jokes! Of course, He had no way of knowing it was Urd who had spread that ugly rumor about Queen Geirhild.

Urd finally managed to stop laughing and opened the bottle of Sake. Expertly poured a glass to the doctor. Like a beginner, he took a big sip and choked, but soon, after a few experiments, he managed to find the way to take it.

Now with a bit of sake in his bloodstream, he worked up the courage to utter another of his jokes. This time it was about the sexual habits of Raghild, the mistress of King Harald and the result was the same. Urd took a good time to stop laughing. She really missed those old, or to be precise, ancient jokes.

The doctor had the opportunity to make further "experiments" with resulted in an excellent outcome. He believed it was a shame that most of those stories would have been deemed unprintable by his editors and he communicate the tough to Urd, who this time shared his outraged

This time the doctor was ecstatic because instead of confused students who had no idea what he spoke, he had a willing audience, who also shared his indignation.

* * *

A little later, Belldandy and Keiichi came back from their work. She had given Keiichi very little details but had promised to explain everything later. They had just crossed the entrance to the temple, when Keiichi heard something that reminded him the Klingon from Star Trek series!

He turned to Belldandy to comment, but what he saw got him speechless. Belldandy had covered his mouth and was trying hard not to laugh with little success. Finally she could not resist and began to laugh with cheerful laughter. Keiichi could not help but be amazed. It was the first time he had seen Belldandy laugh so openly. She always had great control over herself and her laugh was somewhat shy, she was never so open.

Belldandy laugh was contagious. When Belldandy could stop laughing, Keiichi asked.

- What is that noise? Why is so much fun?

- That is a Viking drinking song.

That puzzled Keiichi much more. How could it be that Belldandy knew a drinking song? Keiichi confusion only increased Belldandy´s laughter, but finally she was able to explain:

-When Urd returned from the earth, she insisted on teaching us that song, claiming it was a lullaby. She used it to help Skuld to sleep. Sometime later we learned the truth.

And Belldandy began to sing:

_Klank * * * * Klank klink klink * * *  
Aaaeeaahaah! Aaaeeaahaah!  
We come from the land of ice and fire.  
From the frozen lands Nifelheim sober.  
Born of the chaos of hungry gulfs  
Eternal echoes sound of Ginnungagap._

_The sound of the jars.  
Klank * * * * Klank klink klink * * *  
Aaaeeaahaah! Aaaeeaahaah!_

Keiichi had to recognize that in the sweet voice of Belldandy really could sound like a lullaby and not as a band of drunken Klingon. The song put such a good mood to Belldandy, so Keiichi decided to learn it.

- Teach me the song, it seems to be fun.

Belldandy was delighted, that song brought her back good old memories. So soon they were in the main room, singing a Viking drinking song accompanied with a cup of tea. They sang and laughed together for a while, until they realized the noise in Urd´s room had ceased. They decided to check if doctor Shugahara was OK.

They peered carefully into Urd's room ... and gasped.

They found Urd, nestled tenderly in the arms of the doctor. Both lying unconscious on the floor. Belldandy was touched by the scene. So using her powers, with great care she levitated them and move them to Urd´s futon, still tenderly embraced.

* * *

(End of chapter IV-rev_4)

**Notes:**

1**) Baked Tarantula:** Believe it or not, it´s really considered a delicacy in the Amazon jungle. Basically, you make a hole in the ground, wrap the tarantula with aromatic leaves to conserve moisture and flavor it, and then make a fire on top. They say it is delicious.

2) **Aerogel**: is a manufactured material with the lowest bulk density of any known porous solid. It is derived from a gel in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas. It is nicknamed frozen smoke, solid smoke, solid air or blue smoke due to its translucent nature and the way light scatters in the material. It has been used as a trap in some satellites to collect micro-meteorites, but of course they use different techniques than those described here to manufacture it. I recommend Google for it and look at the beautifully images.

3) **Dr. Izuka Kawazu** is one of the neural network specialists in Japan, but he does not really work at the Chiba University. A neural network is used to emulate the learning capacity of the brain.

4) **Etnobothanic**: They have a background in anthropology, so they are very open to ideas about magic, not necessarily share them, but respect them.

5) **Isomers**. In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. That is one reason that Dr. Shugahara had to study stereo-chemistry.

6) **Berserk**. It´s the battle frenzy of the ancient Vikings. Nobody really knows what it was, but caused terror. They could keep fighting even when they were mortally wounded. Some believe they used hallucinogenic drugs. I always thought it sounded like something could have been invented by Urd.

7) **Curses**: In case you are curious, Urd is cursing in Icelandic and Farsi. If you ask why Farsi? Just because it sounds harsh and very angry and because Urd can speak any language she likes. They are not very sophisticated, but still I prefer not to translate them.


	5. Chapter 5: Crystalization

**Warning**

_I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story._

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter V**

**Crystallization**

— Sensei, Sensei. Good morning

Doctor Shugahara Kenji, heard a sweet and distant voice, but could not understand what she was saying.

— Sensei, Sensei. Your bath is ready.

The voice was heard nearer, was it a dream? He lived alone, so there should be no one there. He tried to open his eyes, but instead of darkness, he saw a throbbing light invading his brain.

— Ah! My head, what is this pain?

He heard his own cry as if he had shouted, his body ached, his head ached, and he felt worse than when he had been bitten by that snake in Costa Rica. What was the cause of that pain?

He felt a cold sweat around his body, and then he smelled the alcohol ... and began to remember.

Where was he? It was strange, he had already asked that question before, but the headache would not let him think.

— Sensei, wait, please do not move.

Whose voice was that? He did not recognize it. Suddenly he felt warm and delicate hands touching his head. There was a Déjà vu. That had already happened before. Then heard how the sweet voice began to chant something that sounded like a prayer, it was mesmerizing.

Gradually, his headache began to dissipate. The cold sweat was gradually replaced by a soft and warm oppression on his chest, and then began to perceive a delicate perfume, it was familiar but he could not recognize it.

He tried to open his eyes again, slowly since he feared the flash would appear again, but instead perceived the penumbra that precedes dawn. All was surrounded by soft red glow as if the first rays of the sun would like to announce his impending arrival.

— Ah! — Suddenly, he let out a long gasp of surprise and recognition. Resting on his chest in a peaceful sleep, there was a beautiful woman covered with the white platinum blanket of her hair. Then he remembered! — Urd! - So, it was no dream, for a moment the doctor was afraid to move, as if fearing the image would disappear.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on his other senses, to make sure it was not a hallucination. Here was the soft oppression, the warmth of her body and the perfume that emanated from her hair, a long hair of a pristine white, which covered her like a delicate garment. He concentrated harder. He wanted to record this memory because he was afraid that everything would disappear. Then he opened his eyes. The woman was still there. Her arms were intertwined with his body. He did not know what to do. Slowly he raised a hand and dared to gently caress that beautiful hair and then gently put his hand on that beautiful head. He gasped and shuddered as he realized it was real.

Near him, he heard a delicate and gentle laughter. Again that voice — Sensei, I am afraid you will have to get up.

The doctor took some time before deciding what to do. He did not want to get up, but his body had other needs. Slowly, as if she were a like a delicate flower he feared to harm, he began to break free from the arms of the beautiful girl. He moved her to one side, and then to his horror, realized they had shared the same futon and were lying under the same blanket.

— I hope you are not bothered, but you looked so well sleeping together that I did not want to separate you.

The doctor felt a chill ... Had they slept together?

—I... I... I am sure nothing happened.

— Sensei, do not worry; I'm sure nothing would happen that my sister did not want to happen.

The doctor did not know whether to feel relieved or worried about that statement. Gradually he rose. He saw the person who had spoken, but only could see her silhouette. She was young and wore simple, yet elegant clothing. She signaled him to go with her.

Before leaving the doctor make sure Urd was comfortable and lovingly he covered her with the blanket. He heard a gasp of pleasure from the young woman.

Finally, he left Urd´s room.

In the hall, he was able to see the woman. She was very beautiful, almost as much as Urd but at the same time was very different; instead of sensuality, she had grace and innocence. However, what most impressed him were the marks on her face. Immediately recognized then: She was the second Norn! Almost in a whisper said.

— Verthandy? — Hearing her name, she smiled. Her expression was so warm and gentle.

— Oh! It has been some time since I heard my name pronounced like that. Here in Japan I am called Belldandy.

The doctor's heart skipped a beat. He had thought nothing else could surprise him. He scratched his head in confusion, and then remembered something that bothered him. What was it? Ah. The name Belldandy. Without realizing it, he snapped his fingers as he remembered.

— I remember ... my students always mispronounce it like that. "Belldandy." I told them they could offend the gods by mispronouncing their names. The right way is Verthandy.

— Please, Sensei, - she gave a gentle laugh —I never would never be offended by something like that. Belldandy also has a beautiful sound.

That phase: "I would never be offended" echoed in the doctor's head. Well, if indeed she was a goddess, he was being very rude; after all, they have not been presented yet!

Again, he looked of his cardholder.

— Excuse my rudeness, Verthandy-san. I am being impolite. Let me introduce myself.

The doctor repeated his ritual. Rituals are always valuable especially when you do not know what else to do. With a courteous bow, he drew his card, took it with both hands and offered to her. She received it with courtesy and elegance. She examined with approval and read its contents.

—"University of Chiba". Specialist in Ethno botany, Dr. Shugahara Kenji." Sensei, It is a pleasure to meet you.

Then with a very gentle gesture, she produced a simple yet feminine case. The doctor was delighted with the courtesy and elegance of her movements. She carefully put the doctor´s card first into her case, and then pulled out a sober card. She made a gentle reverence and offered it to him with both hands and a charming smile. The doctor examined the card. It was perfect. Simple, yet elegant. The paper had a soft texture, pleasant to the touch. The typeface was also perfect. Rarely the Meishi exchange had been so pleasant. He made a gesture of approval and read:

— First class goddess, second category, unlimited, Belldandy.

By now, he already expected it. The doctor put it in his cardholder. The ritual had been so perfect; he even had forgotten his appearance. Disheveled, with his suit blood stained and rumpled, and a slight beard. In addition, just now, he realized it and felt embarrassed, but Belldandy smiled with such kindness that immediately forgot about it.

Then a young man appeared. Finally an ordinary Japanese face! The young man approached him.

—Good morning, I am Morisato Keiichi is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Shugahara — and he gave him a very western handshake.

After the perfect ritual with Belldandy, the doctor could not think about how rude were today's youth and decided not to offer him his card. He also had to admit that at this point, it was disappointing the young man did not claim to be Wotan, Odin or else.

—Doctor, I'll bring you some towels, the bath is ready. If you leave your clothes outside, we will do our best to clean them.

A bath? The proposal sound very appealing, maybe he would reconsider about the card. Belldandy leave them alone, while the doctor entered to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, the doctor came out in a very good mood. Next to the bathroom door, he found his clothes incredibly clean. There were no traces of blood and his suit had never been so well pressed. One more note from the incredible events he had lived.

Suddenly he perceived a delicious aroma. He aspired and then was filled with memories. It was a rice **butadon **style. He had for a moment the image of a breakfast with his parents, the aroma had evoked a beautiful moment. Slowly walked to the kitchen, while his memories were elsewhere.

Belldandy and Keiichi were there, waiting for him.

— Oahio Sensei, I sensed this is one of your favorite dishes, I hope I am not mistaken.

The doctor smiled blissfully, she was wrong but at the same time was right.

— Verthandy sa... no, I mean, Belldandy-san. It´s not my favorite dish, but it was my father´s favorite. As a child, I did not like it much — the doctor said a little sheepishly — but really enjoyed those moments with my father. It have been many years ago the last time I tried it. My family was from the north and butadon was one of the dishes my mother was proud because it was considered it was only for rich people — The doctor was moved and made a small bow — Thanks for this.

The doctor did not wish to ask how she knew that. The moment was too perfect and he did not want to spoil it. Sometimes even he preferred to defer his curiosity. He sat down with Keiichi. Belldandy was acting so perfectly the role of a traditional Japanese woman that the doctor felt twenty years younger and full of an inner peace.

When he finished his breakfast, Belldandy informed him:

— Sensei, Keiichi can take you wherever you want. Do you want him to take you to your home or your college?

—I think I will go directly to college — He was satisfied, bathed, shaved and with clean clothes, so he felt no need to go to his apartment — please tell your sister that I will fulfill my pledge today.

—Sensei, we will gladly inform Urd. Hope to see you soon.

Keiichi scratched his head, what could have he promised to Urd? Well, eventually he would know. For the moment, he just felt necessary to warn the doctor.

— I will take you in the sidecar of my motorcycle; I hope you would not find it uncomfortable.

The doctor was surprised, and then put a wide smile.

— Ah! Not in any way. As a child, I always wanted to ride one of these motorbikes, but my parents never let me. It´s never too late to try something new.

Keiichi liked the man's honesty. He had expected to find a dry and square teacher. He showed the doctor the way to go.

* * *

An hour later, the familiar figure of Dr. Shugahara was down the halls of the university. However, if yesterday he seemed about to dance, today he seemed about to float. Today he was holding his laptop with a beatific smile and was ignoring the whispers that were unleashed on its wake. All had heard of the mysterious disappearance of the doctor, and now he was there with a smile that seemed as if he was coming out of paradise.

The doctor went to his classroom where his students saw a remarkable change. First, he began to instruct them that Belldandy could be considered an acceptable way to pronounce the name of the goddess "Verthandy", and then the classroom became full of laughter, when he finally decided to translate to them the anecdotes and gossips about Queen Geirhild. However, none of his students had the courage to ask him what had happened the previous day.

Later, the doctor went to the library, where the library attendant greeted him with a concerned look, but the doctor greeted her with unusual affability:

— Good morning Kajuira-san. Today you are wearing a beautiful dress. — The woman almost jumped in surprise. She had never imagined the doctor knew her name, much less him to notice what she wore.

—Doctor Shugahara! Where have you been? I was very worried. We found the collapsed shelves, some stained with blood but there was no trace of you. Today we thought to give notice to the police. You never answered the phone from your apartment and you left your cell phone here — she took the opportunity to give him the phone. The doctor took it almost automatically.

— I am very sorry for all the problems, it was my entire fault. I pull down the shelf by accident and it fell over me — the doctor thought it was better not to give many details, but he had to do some explaining — I should have received a good blow, because when I realized I was far away.

— A blow to the head? That is serious accident, please; I think you should go the infirmary

— Do not worry, I already had the best medical attention — He touched his head — I think even there would not be a scar

Miss Kajiura look to him astonished. She did not saw any evidence of injury, and the doctor was more impeccable than usual

— So, please. Tell everyone that I am in good condition and I want to thank you all for your concern.

— Doctor, please, I insist. If you really received a hard blow, you must be examined.

— Kajiura-san. I consider it´s unnecessary, but I promise that I will go by myself to the hospital for an examination. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend. Kajiura-san, I have never told you this, but I think you are a very gentle person.

The doctor went to his cubicle, while Miss Kajiura was speechless. The doctor had never been so kind, and to receive such a compliment from him was something extraordinary. Maybe that blow on the head really had affected him.

Meanwhile the doctor went to his special cubicle and examined the place curiously. On the floor, he noticed the marks of the collapsed shelf. In addition, there were scratches on the shelves and in one book; he believed to distinguish a bloodstain. However, everything seemed so remote, as though it had happened months ago, instead of the previous day.

He turned on his laptop and found a message from Dr. Danielsen He asked if he had got drunk as agreed. The doctor laughed outright. His laughter flooded in all the way through the quiet library, but the sound was so nice that no one attempt to silence him. Then with a mischievous smile he wrote a short post, yes he had got drunk with sake, the best available, and had awakened with a beautiful woman in his arms. Then he laughed as he imagined the Dr. Danielsen face.

Now he had a lot to think. Was it really possible that the previous day he had actually met three goddesses? Then he dug into his pockets and put its contents on the table. What evidence he had? Two presentation cards and a useless circuit? He had witnessed strange things, but had no solid evidence. He scratched his head. He began to walk from one end to another of its cubicle and after a while stopped. He took a decision. He needed more evidence, but maybe more important, he wanted to see those beautiful violet eyes. Then he smiled at the thought, even if she really was 1,200 years older than he was, he had to see her again.

He sat down and searched in his laptop her image from the book. There the painting had haunted him for so many years and then closed his eyes. Then recalled Urd ´s beautiful face and shuddered. That was the image of a real woman, warm and alive. He recalled his feelings when he touched her. Yes, he had to see her again. Besides, he had two promises to keep. First, he needs to collect a few things. He turned off the computer, and went to the cybernetics and AI lab.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Morisato´s residence...

It was a curious scene. In front of a small, old fashioned TV that had seen better days, an attractive young woman was floating in the air as if in an invisible sofa. However, that invisible sofa seemed to be quite uncomfortable, because repeatedly she changed her position. She seemed to try to focus on the insipid television drama that was on-screen, as if it were something of great importance, but could she not.

Since her return to earth, Urd had been fascinated with these artificial dramas. Those artificially sweet stories of impossible loves that ultimately were possible help her to forget that there was also a real world. Urd had returned to earth with a rather cynical attitude towards humans. She did not expect anything good out of them. She had even tried to exacerbate the love between Belldandy and Keiichi, hoping that once physical love was satisfied, Belldandy would go back to heaven.

Slowly she had softened her attitude, and Keiichi has been the main responsible, somehow, he had obtained her respect. In addition, the respect to Keiichi, had been extended to some humans, yet her attitude to the rest of the world had changed little.

Therefore, those dramas were her mind drug to ignore the real world.

However, today it was not working.

She was besieged by memories. Her love for Fafnir and his death still hurt, but there were other longings awakening, the memory of those 10 years of living with humans, sharing their joys and tragedies. There was the memory of the smile of a child happy for a story, or the satisfaction of seeing a brutal man like Gundir, becoming a great leader for his people. Would it be possible to forget that?

Again she tried to immersed herself in the television dramas, to get distract of her thoughts, but it was not working. Finally, she made a hand gesture toward the small TV and it and turned off. Absentmindedly she floated toward her room, but then stopped and returned, she floated in front of the small device.

The silence on the room suddenly felt intolerable. Urd closed her eyes for a moment, but inside her mind appeared the memory of the battlefield and shuddered. She did not want to remember. Then she wondered if mankind had changed since then?

Another gesture from her and, and the TV turn on again, but this time the image was not an artificial drama but a real one. Urd felt disgust, and command the TV to change channels, there other news programs that showed the usual paraphernalia of wars, famines, rivalries, struggles for power, corruption, etc.

She was about to make another gesture to turn off the television when she felt the embrace of two arms from behind her and a voice.

— Onee-san, do not turn it off; it will not make it disappear the reality. You cannot take refuge forever in television dramas.

— Belldandy! What are you doing here, I did not perceive you? Should you be not working with Keiichi?

— I am sorry; I did not mean to scare you. But I felt my sister needed someone who would listen, and came as soon as possible.

Urd felt comfortable with her sister beside her. She was too proud to accept it, but she really felt the need to talk with someone.

— Dr. Shugahara brought me many memories, some of them very painful. Somehow, this man seems to know me better than myself.

— So, does he really love you?

Urd nodded in disgust.

— Not with me, at least not exactly. He is in love with the stupid girl I was many years ago. That naive girl who wanted to change the world and only caused death.

— Do you still blame you because Fafnir´s death? He chose that path, not you. You cannot take the blame for that. You did everything possible to save his life, you even defied heaven.

— Belldandy, how many times you have you claimed I do things without thinking. I should have measured the consequences of my actions.

— Urd, you had no choice. The path you chose was the correct one to save more lives. — Belldandy hugged her sister, and decided to change the conversation. — But there is something I want to know. How the doctor knows so much about you?

Urd told Belldandy the Doctor´s story. How he had studied for years to rebuild fragment after fragment of her life, until he reach the point where it had found her notebook. She spoke about the palimpsest and how scientists were recovering it.

— Your notebook? — asked Belldandy in awe — did he really recover your notebook? That is incredible. — Belldandy close her eyes for a moment to think about it and then speak with thoughtfulness

— I think this can be very serious.

— I don´t believe he would be able to decrypt all the content. For the most important things, I used the high-level codes of Yggdrasil, I am sure he would manage to understand only the basic meanings.

— I was not referring to the content, but something much more important. Here we have an extraordinary chain of coincidences. Your notebook was lost for centuries, and suddenly, the doctor got it the same day that you meet him? What are the chances of that event?

Urd was surprised by the question, then closed her eyes and meditated, while in her mind she run a complex simulation to calculate the probabilities of these events. Then she exclaimed in amazement.

— That cannot be coincidence. That can only be...

— Fate! — Belldandy interrupted while holding her hands in excitement, but Urd tuner her head, negating it.

— But that is impossible. That subsystem of Yggdrasil was disengaged many years ago, it was causing many complications. I myself was in charge of completing the deactivation of the program. Fate has not been working for more than two centuries.

— Then, something or someone must have reactive it.

Urd became concerned, there was something very strange about it.

— How could that be possible? I am the SYSOP! No one can reactivate a program of this kind without my permission and even so, it should be visible in the process list, I would have noticed. — Then closed her eyes, looking for other alternatives. — There is another possibility. It may had been reactivated from the command shell of a high level program, one that runs with enough privileges to turn it in a stealth mode — Urd, pondered.— I only know a category of programs able to do that. The **Predictive Defense Programs**. Those programs try to predict possible threats to Yggdrasil and make preparations in advance to confront without anyone knowing. However, I do not understand what interest could have such a program to make me meet the doctor?

— I think you will have to find out. I perceived the doctor is a very special human being. He has a beautiful aura, so devoid of evil thoughts and above all, he loves you.

— Belldandy, not again with that. The doctor is not my type! And I am the love goddess, not you — Belldandy smiled. Urd protest seemed too emphatic, but it was better not to push her explosive sister.

— Onee-sama — Urd jumped at the unexpected honorary title — I admire you for what you accomplished on earth and I'm sure the Doctor admiration is perfectly justified. I only ask you, do not reject him in advance.

Rejected him? For a moment Urd remembered how the shy hug of the doctor had brought her so much relief the day before. She also had to admit that they had spent an amazing afternoon, the doctor´s jokes had made her laugh so much, as she haven´t done in a long time. He had promised to return, and she really wanted to see him again. But no! It was not for love, it was only because he had found how to solve the problems on her potions... Could that be the answer?

— Belldandy, I have not told you. The doctor found how to solve the problem on my potions! Maybe that is the reason we were meant to meet each other! My potions may be needed in the future.

Urd explained about the properties of plants and how they have change.

— This confirms what I suspected; he is a very special human. A mortal man who is trying to comprehend the inner working of magic instead of just trying to use it. There are gods who do not understand it, even if they dependent on it. You must keep seeing him. In addition, you must fix your potions, maybe, that could be the reason, yet something tells me that there must be much more than that. Belldandy embraced her sister lovingly and prepared to leave.  
- I must go, Keiichi expects me.

Belldandy floated to a mirror in the room. That was her way to travel; she could travel from place to place by mirrors and reflective surfaces. She was about to enter the mirror, when Urd interrupt her.

— Wait! I just realized something. I never told you what happened to me on earth, it was very painful for me to remember, but you seem to know too much. Explain it to me. As a first class goddess you cannot lie.

—Onee-san. That's something I hoped you would discover by yourself. — She return alongside Urd, she entwines her hands with Urd´s, and looked into her eyes — I'll tell you some stories. Stories that you may know. They are about a young, naïve and inexperienced goddess.

Urd tried to protest, but Belldandy shut her with her glance.

— Over a thousand years ago, a young goddess came to the earth, she went to a remote place, where there were only scattered peoples united only by their language. He bought them stories from other marvelous lands. These stories became legends, passed from village to village, and as time passed, reached a certain traveler called Leif Erickson. They inspired him to cross the ocean where he found new lands. Unfortunately, the weather defeated him and his people so he had to return, but later another traveler, a Genovese traveler, knew about Erickson trips and went to discover the new continent. That young goddess changed the world.

Urd gasped. Belldandy was saying that she was partly responsible for the discovery of America.

— Over a thousand years ago, a young goddess came to the earth. Through songs, she taught people to respect human life, and to have dreams of liberty. Rulers and kings tried to dominate them, but those ideal became stronger. Saxon law was established and hence the Magna Chart of England, which codifies the ideals, that rulers were not above the laws.

— Over a thousand years ago, a young goddess came to the earth. She taught women to heal and recognize plants. She taught them lifesaving rules, such procedures would be refined and modified, and those traditions, would be collected and then codified into medicine.

— I know other stories of this young goddess named: Urth. Onee-sama! you have no idea how much I have admired you!. You did all this almost without magic, only hard work. Living and sharing the suffering with those human beings help you to get a deep comprehension. If you only could remove that bitterness from your heart and realize what you've done. With magic, you would never manage to do so much. Your work would have faded into the hearts of men; instead, you managed to get deep into it.

Urd was stunned. She had believed all she had done in the past was useless. Then she remembered Dr. Shugahara had told her that she made great things for those people, but she did not realize it. Did really her stay on earth had left such an impact?

— Please think about it, I think the Doctor knows more stories about the young goddess he loves.

Belldandy affectionately pressed her sister´s hand and then floated back to the mirror; she barely began to cross it, when a cry of Urd stopped her halfway.

— Just a moment, you haven´t told me how you know all this.

Belldandy paused for a moment with a mischievous smile, a bit out-of-place on her gentle face:

— Oh! About that. We studied you at our history class, as part of my training at the **Goddess Relief Office** — and she disappeared without giving Urd time to react.

The Japanese is a language with a few swearwords. However, Urd knew many of the languages of the earth, so she did not lack words to express her feelings. Her life! Her personal life! he memories, her joys and love, and who knows what else... Transformed into a history lesson for gods.

Somewhere, those Valkyries from which she had wanted revenge would be laughing!

Nevertheless, slowly the anger gave way to laughter. Now she understood many things. Urth, a living legend among mortals, was Urd, a living history class among gods. Then decided she deserved a toast, maybe there were still some of the excellent Sake the doctor had brought. With that thought she went to her room. Meanwhile the small TV set vomited the usual paraphernalia of the news programs.

* * *

That same afternoon...

A small compact car traveled along the road toward the temple that was home to Keiichi and Belldandy. It was an old-fashioned Subaru R-2, very popular 20 years ago but still perfectly maintained. It reflected its owner personality. It was a functional car, practical, economical and showed its owner cared little for ostentation or appearance.

The car stopped at the temple entrance and Dr. Shugahara Kenji emerged from it. He took some packages out of the trunk, together with a large bouquet of purple flowers. It was obvious he felt insecure with the flowers.

The doctor examined the temple entrance with curiosity. It was perfectly maintained and restored. It must have been needed a team of expert restorers to leave it in that state. He entered while watching with awe the beautiful balance of the garden. It was obvious that the temple was no longer functioning as such, and yet he sensed something divine in the environment.

Suddenly his progress was interrupted by something completely out-of-place. It was a small robot. It had a comical air, a spherical face wearing an outdated hat that had been used by Japanese foot soldiers of the nineteenth century. Also had a prominent handle on the back. But the attitude of the robot was not comic. It seemed he did not like intruders and issued a series of unkind sounds. The doctor carefully placed his packages on the floor, the robot's attitude did not bode well, and he would not like to cause harm on the packages.

The robot, Banpei Kun RX, was Skuld´s creation. She had designed to protect the temple against demons and other intruders. The doctor was a specialist in surviving in the jungle, the son of a Kendo instructor, and foremost, a scientist... The small robot never had a real chance.

Skuld was chanting in the main room with her friend Sentaro, when she saw the doctor with his packages.

— Sensei — she approached him, and bowed reverently — what a joy to see you again. I was talking with Sentaro-kun about you. He did not want to believe me a TV personality has been here.

The child outlined a broad smile; he stood before the doctor and made an elegant and correct traditional greeting.

— Sensei, my name is Kawanishi Sentarō.

— Nice to meet you, Sentarō-kun.

The doctor smiled. He liked so much when young people retained the old customs of courtesy. Then he looked at the two young with satisfaction. Even if they were still young, it was obvious there was something more than friendship between them. It was comforting to see that "second class goddess" Skuld behaved like a perfectly normal girl. Well, almost.

— Skuld-san— Sentarō was surprised by the honorific title— I showed Dr. Kawazu your circuit and was very impressed— Upon hearing this, Skuld blushed visibly — So he asked me to deliver this to you.

The doctor took one of the packages; it was wrapped in anti-static plastic. He unwrapped it carefully. He took some integrated circuits and microchips and delivered to Skuld. Skuld observed with approval how the doctor knew to handle delicate circuits, as the doctor took her hand first, to discharge any electrostatic charge before giving her the circuits. That detail increase her respect for the Doctor

Then examined the microchips and her mouth opened in surprise.

— Dr. Kawazu explained to me, these are experimental circuits; they are equal to several hundreds of thousands of nodes in a neural network. These are not perfect, the quality control program rejected them, but he told me that you should not have problem in mapping the defective parts and use the rest.

— I... I do not know what to say. — She said in awe— these circuits are very advanced; tell him they are wonderful, they are very important to me.

— Why are important to you? — The doctor had assumed it was just a hobby.

— They are for Banpei-Kun, my android; I designed him to defend the temple against enemies. But it has a hard time distinguishing enemies from friends. With a neural network it will be easier to teach him.

— Banpei-Kun! then that is how that little android is called.

— You meet him. I apologize; I hope he did not hurt you...

Then she just opened her mouth as the smiling doctor gave her the On/off handle from the robot.

— Sensei! I was not expecting visitors today. You are not hurt!

— Do not worry, it was fun. But I'm curious. Do you have many enemies?

Skuld was about to answer when Sentarō, who had not lost detail of the conversation, gave him a nudge and a look to shut her up.

— Eh. Well, some ... Sorry Sensei, I have to leave. There is so much I want to do with these circuits.

— Please wait, Dr. Kawazu expected something in exchange. — Skuld gave a query look at the doctor. — He wants you to give him a report on whatever project you have with the circuits. He is curious about you. That reminds me.

The doctor pulled a small package and gave it to Skuld with an elegant bow. She opened it and saw with surprise a small and elegant cardholder. It was no made from leather, like the doctor´s, but from a very elegant brushed metal, such as one would have expected from a young and promising engineer.

— I hope you like. Inside you will find Dr. Kawazu´s card with his e-mail. He would like to hear from you. He was very impressed with your circuit.

The doctor gave a CD-ROM to Skuld.

— Here are some comments and suggestion to your circuit; he really took some time in studying it. Please write to Dr. Kawazu.

Skuld looked ecstatic with the cardholder. She opened and found Kawazu's card. The she bowed several times in a row, to express gratitude to the doctor and ran to her room, dragging the young Sentarō along her. He just smiled as apology, since she had not given him a chance to say goodbye.

Suddenly the doctor heard a familiar voice behind him.

— Doctor, you amazed me again. I have never seen such behavior on Skuld. She had never showed any to anyone, until she knew you.

The doctor turned to see Urd with a big smile, but seeing her, he had to struggle not to keep the mouth open. The previous day he had seen Urd with what she considered a conservative suit, but the Doctor had considered as sensual. Today Urd was using her regular clothing, which was much more revealing, with a very ample cleavage in front. Urd could not hide her satisfaction with the doctor's reaction, but to her disappointment, he recovered very quickly.

— Urd-san is a pleasure to see you again.

Urd frowned at the "Urd-san" so she decided to fight back with a studied coquetry.

— Come on doctor, how you can call me "Urd-san", after we sleep together.

Urd pronounced "_sleep together"_ with a flirtation and sensuality such that the doctor blushed deeply, but unfortunately for Urd, his tan hid much of the effect. For a moment, Urd recalled another man whose blush was more evident.

The doctor seemed to choke, but began to recover quickly. Urd had already noted, the doctor seemed to have the gist to adapt quickly to situations.

— Urd sa... sa...I mean, Urd. Then I will ask you a favor.

— Yes? What is?

— My name is Kenji. Just Kenji — the doctor said a bit shyly, but with resolution.

To Urd, it was evident how hard was for the doctor to say those words, but even so, he was resolute about them. Then the doctor, I.e. Kenji, gave a depth breath of relief.

Then he remembered his other package, and gave the bouquet to Urd. She recognized the flowers; their perfume soon began to bring her back memories. Like the memory of that cold morning when he discovered them and recalled the naked body of Fafnir. But fortunately those memories were not as painful as the day before. She stayed there for a moment trying to get soaked in its soft aroma. Then she remembered that Kenji was there, and seeing him so eager, she could not avoid teasing him.

— Such beautiful flowers. "Kenji". Thanks you, you are very gallant — the doctor swallowed hard. Urd as a great master in the art of seduction, had placed a great burden of sensuality to pronounce his name.

— They are not flowers, well, yes they are flowers, but, I mean, they are medicinal plants, they are...

— They are Urd´s flowers, the non-mutated original flowers. — Urd looked into the doctors eyes, who realized she had been teasing him. Then he smiled after realizing he had been an easy target and she corresponded with a beautiful smile and left out her seduction game

— Thanks Kenji. You do not know what they mean to me.

This time Urd pronounce his name very differently, she said it with a warmth, the doctor felt that extended to his own body, this was the Urd he liked, so he simply told her.

— I always keep my promises. You can have all you want, along everything from the greenhouse. In exchange, I just want to ask you a favor.

— A favor? Of course, these flowers are very important to me. Whatever you want.

— Teach me how you prepare them.

— Why? You have been able to extract the main compound with a high purity.

— It took my students and me more than a week of work; something tells me I could learn a lot from you.

Urd looked in the doctor´s eye and meet that intense look that betrayed his curiosity. She liked that look

— Well then, what are we waiting, let get to work, Kenji. Come with me.

They entered "Urd´s Castle", that was the name in the entrance of her room. The doctor could not avoid feeling a thrill as he saw the futon in the corner.

Urd proceeded to prepare her laboratory. Took out the reactive and the glassware, then she hesitated and asked the doctor to turn round. Trying to be discreet she made a simple spell and her clothes turned into a simple but perfectly fit, white lab coat. She could pass as a high level scientist. She waited a moment, just to pretend it was not magic.

— Ready, you can look now.

The doctor uttered a surprised sight... she was implying that she had undressed and changed when he was not seeing her, so He turned slowly to see.

—Oh!, a lab coat.

Urd smiled — what did you expected? a black cloak with moons and stars and a conical hat?

The doctor smiled shyly.

— OK, I confess that I expected that.

— Let me tell you, this is much more practical, but maybe someday I would let you see my full sorcerer´s costume.

Both laughed at the idea.

Urd took the flowers, and aspired it´s scent one last time. She would have to sacrifice it, because this was not the compound she needed.

With skill, she began to separate the petals, choosing only those she felt had the highest concentration. She cut them in thin pieces, macerated them in a porcelain mortar, and finally added a solvent.

Then proceed to filter the extract, and to conduct a preliminary crystallization.

The doctor did not lose any detail and repeatedly stopped to ask for the fine details.

— In this step, the temperature should be accurate at 52.2 Celsius degrees. How you can figure the temperature without measuring it?

Urd stopped to think, how did she knew? She just felt that this should be correct, and then analyzed what she had done and commented.

— There is a slight color change when the crystal changes phase.

The doctor smiled with approval. He did not have taken that step when he had been in that part of the procedure.

Urd dissolved the crystal and proceeded to crystallize again the compound´s salt. Now there was only a small fraction of material she had begun, but the purity was essential. Again and again she repeated the steps of dissolve and crystallize, each time removing more impurities.

They spent more than three hours in this step.

— Wonderful! This beauty, those forms so pure and perfect I've never seen anything so awesome beautiful in my life. The proportions and shape are almost perfect.

Urd was used to hearing that kind of praise to describe her body, but the doctor was not looking at her, but to the fruits of their labor: A few slightly yellowish crystals. The doctor was looking at them with a microscope he had brought.

It was the first time that Urd heard so many compliments about her work, and spoken such honesty and earnestness. Then the doctor turned to see her. The look of those intense brown eyes make Urd felt something that never in her life had felt. For the first time in her life, Urd had blushed.

But the following words of the doctor, felt like a bucket of cold water.

— But I think you can do it better.

Urd´s blush was soon replaced by a momentary fit of anger, but it was quickly evaporated when the doctor made a statement of humility.

— I never could have achieved something similar in my lab. This purity exceeds anything I have tried to do, but after seeing you, I think there are a couple of points that can be improved. Urd uttered a few well-chosen swearwords, that made the doctor to smile and asked.

— Kenji, Why, in the name of heaven do you need it to be so pure. I have used this compound before; I do not need to be more pure.

The doctor hesitated for a moment. What he wanted to do was to try one of his more hair rising hypotheses. The idea seemed so insane that he had not dared to mention to his colleagues, until he could provide some evidence. Nevertheless, he needed to be frank with Urd.

— I believe this compound has capabilities that go beyond its chemical properties. Have you seen it´s crystalline structure? I used X-ray refraction, originally I thought it was just a face centered cubic lattice, but there is something else there. I am sure this compound extends its crystalline structure in other dimensions. Its structure seems to resonate with the structure of space-time. But it has impurities, which prevent it to penetrate very deeply. Please, I am not sure how you do it, but use those strange senses you have, try to perceive it.

Urd heard the doctor with curiously. She recalled the words of Belldandy, about the doctor trying to understand the principles of magic. Therefore, she took the container with the crystals, and started singing to concentrate.

Now she could see the lattice of the crystal. She was a being of a 10 dimension world, and soon recognized what the doctor had said. The crystal lattice is extended not only 3, but in, 10 dimensions. Anchoring it in the structure of space-time. Instead of being perfect, the lattice of the crystal was fractured here and there by impurities. Impurities that were distorting the crystal putting strain on the structure. She could almost feel the pain of the crystal being deformed.

That pain forced her out of the trance. She looked at the crystals, and with a gesture of purposefulness, she decided to release them from their pain. This time the doctor got to work with her.

Hours later, she and the doctor approached a small glass dish, which they looked in awe. There were only six crystals, the size of grain of salt. Maria Curie must have felt the same awe when after processing tons of ore; she obtained just a few milligrams of a new element, radium.

Urd was overflowed by the powerful magic emanating from the crystals, while the doctor could see a small but very special glow that came out of them, as he suspected where it came from. The effort had been worthwhile. The power of those crystals should be extraordinary.

— Kenji, you were right. The crystal structure is now perfect. And I can feel its power.

— It's amazing, is like a window anchored into other dimensions. I feel dizzy just thinking about the implications.

Without even realizing it, the doctor and Urd hugged excited. The thrill of their accomplishment, had demolished for a moment the natural barriers between people. Now it would depend on them whether they would lift them again.

Slowly they parted, the words seemed unnecessary. Outside the first rays of daylight began to appear, and the doctor began to feel the tiredness of the day.

— It´s almost sunrise, I must retire. — He gives a tired smile — I have no idea how I would be able to give my class today, but it was worth all.

— Kenji, I hope to see you soon. We could do so much.

Urd saw fatigue reflected in the doctor's eyes, and recalled that he was merely a human. She went to her potions cabinet and brought a little pill.

— Take this; it will give you energy for the day. Please, do not look at me like that, is not dangerous.

The doctor took the pill and without hesitance, he swallows it as if saying he trusted her. Suddenly he felt as fatigue and hunger disappeared.

He did not want to leave, but finally said goodbye to Urd and left. He found himself breathing the cool morning air and with it, he felt a renewed vigor. As he walked down the path of the temple, he stopped briefly, look up to the sky and felt as happy as never in his life. Finally he got into his car and left.

The car had traveled barely a few hundred meters along the road when it stopped and the engine was turned off.

Suddenly, the little car was shocked as from within came a mighty cry.

— BANZAI!

The motor started again, and the small vehicle continued his way.

End of chapter V

* * *

**Notes:**

- I love so much the technical details that I may have over did it a bit. I would like to know your opinion.

- **Sake**. It may seem strange that a single bottle of Sake the doctor had a hangover of such proportions, but most Japanese people have a very low resistance to alcohol. Usually about two glasses of wine are more than enough to knock out a lot of them.

- **Stealth mode**: In computing, a program or a virus uses stealth techniques to hide from users and anti-virus software. Basically, it modifies the operating system so that any attempt to detect it, forces the OS to report everything is in order.

- **Subaru R-2.** All the fans of "You are under arrest" will recognize this car.


	6. Chapter 6: The duty of a Goddess

**Warning**

_I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story._

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

Chapter VI

**The duty of a goddess**

Giörel, goddess first class second category, was very happy. Actually it was not something unexpected, this seemed to be her natural state. Partly because she was gentle, kind and cheerful, but above all because there was no day that she did not discovered something entirely new that deserved celebration. On her way to work, she walk along the trails of that beautiful realm called Heaven humming a melodious tune. She had a premonition, today would be a special day.

She was a very young goddess. Her features retained something of the sweetness and innocence of a child. In addition she had a restless green eyes, a color she thought, reflected her love for things that grow on the soil, because that was her domain. She had a beautiful brown hair. She liked to thread it in a long braid, and always wore a flower on it. Because at any moment another she might need to go to the earth, she was wearing her ceremonial dress that mark her as a first class goddess.

She arrived at the graceful building of the "Goddess Technical Help Line" one of the heavenly organization responsible for granting wishes to mortals.

The building was unimaginable in human terms, impossible shapes, great spaces extended by more than 3 dimensions. Flowers and vegetation make it appear more like a beautiful garden than an office, but such is the way of the gods. There were corridors that crossed heights that would cause vertigo to any mortal by not having any support or protection.

She greeted her supervisor. Othala was a goddess that tried to pretend to be strict, but everybody knew she had a big heart. Despite the eternal youth of her appearance, she had literally centuries of experience.

There were only a dozen goddesses in such large space, but they did not need more. Only special cases were treated here. Common wishes were processed in the office of the "Earth Assistance Center."

Finally she arrived to her place. A stylish and comfortable seat that seemed to float in the air. It had several displays and adjustable controls.

She had recently been transferred to this position and like everything she did, she committed at her fullest in her work, but sometimes she went beyond her duty. She tried to understand everything, even when she was not meant to. Now, after attending some cases with supervision of senior Goddess, she had finally received permission to work alone. That among other things, meant she has been assigned to be in the place that had once occupied Belldandy. This had been her seat.

That name made her feel gentle warmth, there, where goddesses have their hearts. She secretly wondered if one day she would also became enamored of a mortal. However, the mere suggestion had provoked a reprimand from her supervisor. Love had been the cause of a very important loss in her staff did not want another. By now, it was known by everybody that what was holding Belldandy on earth was no longer a contract, but something she considered more important.

Giörel smiled to herself, and then with a rather guilty air, instead of beginning her work opened Belldandy´s file. She already knew it by heart, but there were aspects that did not understand. In order to avoid calling attention, she chose to keep the display in two-dimensional mode, much more discreet.

There it was, a perfect record, since a child, everyone expected great things from her. Her list of achievements was remarkable. Championship in flying brooms racing, songstress spell master, a certificate without blemish as Valkyrie, one outstanding thesis in human history, on the scope of the "Urth" case. However, there were some strange anomalies. Nowhere was not mentioned the name of her main tutor, they were very important she must had one of the best. She also had a strange long period of inactivity. Giörel imagined she had some secret mission or something like that. Celestine's name had been completely removed from heaven´s records and few remembered him. But what most impressed her was the relationship with Keiichi.

Suddenly she heard and annoyed cough behind her. She quickly turn off the display, but it was too late. Her supervisor was floating behind her, with a stern expression.

- Othala, I am sorry, I did not felt you come.

- Again with this file? I think you must know it by heart. In addition, you have more important matters to do than daydream.

Her supervisor actually claimed to be angry, but it was impossible to get angry with this young goddess. Even so, she must do something, she liked the initiative and curiosity, but not in working hours.

- Sorry, but there are many things I do not understand about it. I was just curious. Could you could explain me? You have so much experience!

Othala, sighted. She just could not get angry at those restless eyes. However, she was worried. The fascination with Belldandy seemed to have reached epidemic levels among her staff.

- Only, if you promise to get back to work, then I can spare a few minutes.

- Yes I promise! - Then she hesitated, she was not sure this was the best way to frame her question - Keiichi is not the first mortal who wished to live with a goddess, why is he is the only one his wish has been granted?

Othala stared at her. That was a delicate statement in several respects

- Giörel. All wishes are granted and fulfilled. It is our duty as gods.

- Sorry, I did not mean that, but ...- Othala floated in front of her and gently touched her face.

- But as you must know, humans rarely know exactly what they want, that is why not all goddesses may occupy that chair. You are among those with a sensitivity to guide and interpret their wishes. You can give them alternatives, you can project mental images so that they understand what may imply the consequences of their wishes, you can even make them live in a simulation and give them the opportunity to feel what would happen with a wrong wish, so they have the opportunity to regret. You must be able to decide what to. You must be wise enough to understand what they want, not what they say they want. In most cases, and you must know it, what they really want is someone to love and worship, almost like a goddess and that has been fulfilled.

- But what about Belldandy?

- In this special case, Yggdrasil acted before she could react. Belldandy was very surprised, but she was committed to her work. Now it's your turn. You tell me why that was granted. You have little time here, but you have been properly trained, and should already know the answer.

The young goddess looked insecure; she had hoped her supervisor gave the answer, so she began to recite her lessons.

- We grant wishes to humans, because we get compensation in return and ... Yes!, That's it. If the system allowed a first class goddess to stay with him, means he must be someone very special and great things are expected of him, even more, probably he needs the presence of a goddess to fulfill them.

Then the young goddess sighed with a wistful and romantic look.

- I would like to meet such a mortal.

- No!, I have forbid that to any goddess of my staff. I do not know what is special about him, but the goddesses who have been with him have changed. First Belldandy, then Peorth, and that Valkyrie, Lind. The most powerful of the Valkyries, was changed by a mortal. No, remember, Keiichi is off limits. Now forget it, by now, even I cannot longer see his file, is encrypted with a level five-security key. So, get back to work. Now, give me a summary of your main cases.

Giörel felt some guilt, even without seeing the file, there were enough gossips around. Certainly, the young man had shown signs of being special. He was a mortal who had been able to bear not once, but twice, angels. First, he had been able to support and use Lind´s angel and then he had supported the familiar transformed by Belldandy into an Angel. He had also had been granted a second wish by their rival office, the "Earth Assistance Hotline". That had never happened before. In addition, his wish had been nothing less than to hear that Belldandy loved him. It was so romantic! Moreover, he had been able to call directly to heaven, trying to find a cure for Belldandy! Never before had something like that occurred!

At the stern gaze of her supervisor, she had to leave her secret fantasies, so she got to review her files. She had a list of ten candidates. All carefully selected by the system. At some point, she knew it would be her duty to guide and grant them a wish. Therefore, she proceeded to give her summary of the most probable cases.

- So, you have been assigned ten files. Tell me, which ones do you consider the most important?

- There are three that are almost at the optimal time: Here is Chiara Vimercati from the country called Italy, Mipham Chokyi Lodro from the Tibet and Parthasarathi Somasindhu from India. I wish that Somasindhu would be me first case. His eyes are so sad.

She sighted while looking at his picture. He was young but was bit small for his age, probably he has suffered hunger in his childhood. He had a kind expression, yet the hard edge around his eyes, showed he had known suffering.

Her supervisor crossed her arms in sign of exasperation.

- You are a goddess first class. Not a giddy goddess of love. Now tell me your opinion this "sad-eyed boy."

The girl blushed to the mockery of her instructor. This young Hindu was his favorite, he came from a family from the untouchable caste. She had hard time understanding the word "untouchable", and now she classify it as a painful word. Those sad eyes make her sigh. Would she ever fall in love with a special human?

- He comes from very poor family, for the untouchable caste. He has suffered much, and I think ...

- We do not grant wishes for suffering. Please, stay objective.

- He has the potential to be a great doctor, he has talent to research and develop cures. His actions will bring happiness to many people and we will benefit greatly. But he is about to give up his dreams to be a doctor.

- That is better. Now, what kind of wish does he need to ask?

- I think he should ask for something to help him gain entry to college and give him strength to confront further adversity. Something that will encourage him to strive and move forward. However, I am getting worried. As previously estimated, the call must have occurred almost a month ago. The College is about to close registrations and he is being discouraged. The optimum period to get his wish is almost done. I even have asked for a system diagnosis, but everything is in order.

- You have asked for a system check? – Othala was annoyed - Please you must inform me before doing it again. For a proper diagnosis, the system but be stopped, otherwise our security could be compromised. A system check involves droop the firewalls to verify them.

- Oh. I didn´t knew that.

But Giörel was not paying much attention, she was contemplating the image of the young on the screen, admiring his sad eyes. If she could change them into smiling eyes, she would be considered the happiest goddess of all.

For a moment, she reminded about Belldandy and the wished she had to fulfill. And that mortal, Keiichi. She savored the name of the mortal, her romantic heart could not be stooped from doing that. The system had agreed that a first class goddess dropped everything and stay with him.

Suddenly the phone rang. Her heart jumped with pleasure. Finally, it was the young Hindu!. At last she would meet him. Quickly pick up the receiver and replied in perfect Hindi, for she had been rehearsing over and over again.

-_ Rahat karyalay Devi. Fon karne ke liye Tum dhanyavaad, ham AAPAK turant bhaag Lenge._

She turned around to seek approval. Othala smiled, it was the proper accent and intonation. She heard the surprised voice of the young, which was a normal reaction. Now she was prepared to go. Mentally she did a last review of the files. She prepared her business card and could not avoid a last coquetry, and have a last check in the mirror which would transported her, and was pleased with what she saw. Her outfit was correct and her beautiful hair was perfect.

Suddenly she saw something strange on the display and returned immediately to her chair. For a moment, she had seen a powerful energy in the room where the young was calling. She reviewed the system, but there was no trace of what she saw. She could have not imagined, her memory was near perfect. However, she found a time discontinuity in the systems logs, as if something had been erased. She made a questioning look at her supervisor, in a computer system as complex as Yggdrasil, this was very serious. Yet there was no sign of problems.

- Something strange happened and there is an anomaly in the system. Maybe I will not get another chance; I need to go down with him. According to protocols, I should not go down if there is any possibility of foreign presence. Yet currently the system reports none. What should I do?

- Do not worry, I will check the system, meanwhile you do your duty. Hurry up my girl!

Finally, she went into the mirror, where she dissolved into her way to earth. Unfortunately, her worries were correct. If she had listened to the phone line a few seconds more, she would have heard as the voice of the young went from surprise to terror.

* * *

The fight was at its peak.

Anang-Reh tensed his muscles, the opponent had almost twice his weight, and the effort required to avoid being thrown required all his concentration. His muscles aching, the last encounter had been very painful, the she-demon he had faced was a worthy rival, but was finally he had defeated her. Now, mentally reviewed the situation. His opponent had pretty much put him on the edge of the track, a bit more and he would be out of the arena. It was perfect!. He could not help but chuckle, which baffled his opponent, who loosened his push a bit. That was all he needed. Anang-Reh push suddenly stopped pushing, and dropped back, pulling his opponent, then expertly he placed his foot against the stomach of giant demon, lift him and made a final push with both his legs. The demon without a foothold, was thrown out of the arena, Anang's foot in the stomach of the demon had been an excellent lever.

He heard a loud crash, just right between judge's seats. Exactly as planned!. Surely, with that, the judges were not going to forget his name again.

The arena was filled with laughter. The tactics of the young were not very elegant, but had been very effective. Soon there were discussions all over the place, while demons of all ages argued about their favorite sport. But the rules were clear, Anang-Reh was the new champion.

Unlike the heaven, where the gods favored open space, in the demon realm they prefer closed spaces, even underground. Not that they like small places. Many of their buildings were huge underground spaces, but they were not caverns. An underground space, for a sculptor means that walls and ceiling are all canvas for working. Therefore, they were full of false columns, geometric figures, statues. It was like a petrified lace. This was no place for nature; it was pure stone worked beyond imagination.

A place where deceiving was an art. False columns, false ways, stairs that went nowhere, put there just for the pleasure of having them. Baroque beyond imagination, it had an alien beauty. Yet, the cold gray stone gave this world a sense of old and cold.

Here the arena was a huge space surrounded by huge arches, where each demon could have an ample area, since they did not like to be crowded. Ranks and class separated them. But the passion for this sport was the same on all.

Anang-Reh was in the middle of the arena, standing proudly, as if trying to counteract the awkward move he had done. There was a long pause, but finally one of the judges managed to regain some dignity. He approached and reluctantly raised his hand, indicating victory.

He knew his tactics would be criticized. A self-respecting demon would never fall to an opponent, even if that mean to win. But he did not care. With this victory now, he had a chance to be selected for the elite fighting squadron, and there, maybe he could become one of Hild´s bodyguards. As a male demon, he knew there were few opportunities to enter Hild´s inner circle. She was known to despise most male demons and used to called them "brainless". Anang-Reh, happened to agree on Hild´s opinion in this matter, a lot of them really were brainless.

For example, the Shak-ar was a popular sport among the warrior class and with some resemblance to the rules of sumo. It´s goal was to take the opponent out of the circle and originally it was a contest to test strength. So, there was no rules to say how the opponent was defeated. This small detail had allow him a way him defeat several opponents much larger and stronger using intelligence and tactics, to the chagrin of those who still wanted to see this sport a contest of brute strength.

- Father - shouted the young, seeing a man approach, which hardly seemed older than him. Nevertheless, among both gods and demons the appearance is a bad way of measuring age. The man was a little more sturdy and taller. His clothes were simple, but he was wearing various ornaments, which indicated his high rank.

The man ignored the effusive greeting of his son. Yet the brightness of his eyes were more than enough to show that he was proud, but it was inappropriate for a person of his position to show affection. The boy went beside his father and began to walk along with him, as if instead of leaving and exhausting wrestling match, he just had walked out of a library.

- What is going now in politics?

- I wish politics were as simple as a meeting of Shak-Ar. However, I think you would not be so out of place, I see that you care more about results than using the accepted way to fight. Nevertheless, returning to your question about politics. Hild simply refuses to listen. Sometimes I think she is over the gods' side, instead of her own people. Why we want to train in fighting and combat if we never fight a worthy opponent? All this only serves to scare occasionally these mortal worms living on earth. I say we should be masters of the mortal world, and take everything that belongs to ours by the right of our power.

The young man was exhausted, but he could not show it with his proud father, he just kept walking when he just wanted to throw into a katra bath to relax his aching muscles.

- Father, but during the war, before the doublet system, we suffered many casualties.

- So what?, that is what warriors are for. They are expected to die eventually.

- Father, I ...

- Forget it; you are too young to understand this. Nevertheless, I say, soon we will be able how to remove Hild.

- Father, you should not say this in public.

The young man looked around cautiously. Hild had a tight grip on what demons could say about her. Expressing their views so freely, could be dangerous.

- Son, never mind. She is still powerful, but each day she loses more power. She lost strength in the war, so she has to turn to some clever tactics to stay in power. But we may be able to overcome that.

- But I think she ...

- Stop it. I know your opinions. I cannot understand you. You know that while she is in power, you will never go very high. As a female, she just trust in her own class, no matter how inept they are. Just see that stupid demon she keeps on earth.

- Marler?, She is not stupid. You do not know her.

- So, you know her well? - The man raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

- The young man paused a moment. He gave a defiant look to his father.

- Yes, I know her and I must say that appearances are deceiving. She has taught me many things of the mortal world.

- And, why do you want to learn something from those inferior beings? We only need to learn how to frighten them.

- Do you know how I beat my last opponent?, I learned that movement from humans, it´s called judo. See, even we can learn from them how to win. Marler has taught me many useful things about them.

The man laughed and pointed his finger at his son.

- Could it be that you are the one judging by appearances? After all, she has a very desirable body. That is the only good thing she has.

The young man's eyes narrowed in contained anger. His father was touching a sensible nerve. While jokes about Marler misadventures were common jokes, he had learned the real reasons behind that, yet he could not reveal them.

- Enough, I do not want to talk more about this subject.

- Why not? She is a friend of that half-breed daughter of Hild. She has been unable to expel the three Norns out of the earth. I suggest that there must be something more between them. I cannot imagine any other explanation for her ineptitude.

- Father. She is not inept. In time, you will find out.

The man looked at his son. He was becoming too brash and would not tolerate it. He needed to enforce some discipline, but not in public. He just turned away and left him there, leaving him speechless. However, he began to think that there could be a good side form this. He could take advantage of that friendship. He thought that for some reason Hild had been tolerant on that inept demon, so maybe there was something else. - I think his friendship will provide us with vital information. Son, you will have to learn some things about real politics.

* * *

Meanwhile in a New Delhi slum, Somasindhu was walking along a miserable street, he was surrounded by a sea of people who went along as if he was not there. Bitterly he thought if they knew his identity, indeed many would think he did not deserve to exist. He was a Dalit, an untouchable. Although casts were officially abolished, reality was still very different. He had managed to escape abject poverty, yet he still was not very far from it.

He arrived at the dilapidated building where he had gotten the cheapest accommodation and intermediately he went to check the mail. Nothing, nothing!. He already should have the verification about his scholarship and the first payment. He searched deep into his pockets and barely was able to find some rupees. He would hardly eat that day. Then look at the pay phone of the building and decided to take a chance and phone to the scholarship committee. There should be some kind of mistake.

It was an old phone, which fit perfectly in the state of the place. Everything seemed about to collapse by old age. He could only afford one call. Maybe he would have to accept the offer from the local healer and work for him. He always had customers, but his customers did not seem to improve on health yet he managed to have their purses lighter. The healer had discovered Somasindhu seemed to have magic hands. He had a way to listen to patients and find out what they had, then with a few simple tips and cheap medicines they really improved. The healer thought he could have use for his talent. He wondered why he wanted to be a doctor; he did not need that to earn a lot of money.

However, Somasindhu did not want that. He wanted to study medicine and help many people, but no just for money. He took the card from the scholarship committee, then with utter care he chose on of his coins and placed it on the old phone, then with extreme care, he dialed the number... and then He heard a beautiful voice. It was feminine and delicate, her intonation was very educated, it was the Hindi of the educated people:

- "Goddess Technical Help Line. We have received your call; I will go immediately to attend you."

He yelled in surprise, it was a wrong number and he had no money for another call ... Yet the voice had bewitched him. Then he heard a noise behind him and turned to see.

The Hindu religion possibly has one of the richest imaginations with an elaborated set of images of gods and demons. Some of those illustrations of demons are horrific, but none of this prepared him for the vision he saw.

They were two gigantic creatures. They barely fit on the common room where the phone was. They were so horrific that his mind could barely register them. Freakishly muscular bodies, sharp claws, scaly skin. Their face was grotesque and brutish. He screamed in horror and tried to run. One of the creatures simply extended his arm and took him like a man clutching a doll. He felt a terrible pressure and heard his ribs broke. The pain was unbearable. Then he heard in his mind a laugh and a few words.

- Yagoth, stupid, you are going to kill him before time.

- But I just barely touch him.

- Mortals are so fragile!. Give it to me.

Somasindhu cried, when the other being pull him out of the hand of Yagoht.

- Look how fragile is he. You just need to use a nail and rip here. He will die in a few minutes, just the time we need.

The monstrous being extended one of his fingers, which had stood out one of his sharp nails and made a frightful cut the in the throat of the boy. He attempted to scream but his throat was filled with blood and only came out a gurgling noise. After that, they just dropped him and somehow disappeared from view, but he knew they still were there.

Suddenly, from a battered mirror in the room came a divine vision. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen floated out from there, with a broad smile and a card in her hand.

He thought it was a Devi who came for his soul. When she saw him, she screamed and then floated to try to help him.

- Somasindhu, what happened? Who did this? - The young man was surprised to hear his name on the voice of this beautiful vision. He was really convinced she was Devi, a Hindu goddess.

Meanwhile the young goddess watched in horror as blood came out his neck. She tried to contain it with her delicate hands; her card was stained with blood. It was useless. For a moment, she was petrified with horror.

Then she recovered. After all, she was a first class goddess, and a well-trained goddess. She breathed deeply to calm down and concentrate looking the solution among all the magic she possessed. There was very little time and recalled ... The spell of Urd!. It was somewhat clumsy, inefficient and primitive, yet fast and it worked. She had studied it in class. There was no time for something more elaborate, it was the solution to be used in an emergency and she was a first class goddess. She should be able to achieve it easily.

She began to chant, but was taken aback, could not detect any vital energy sources! Something was blocking them. There was no time to seek any; she should draw it from her own energies, which were limited on earth. However, there was no other solution.

She resumed her chant; it began to grow stronger and stronger, forming a luminous sphere of vital energy directly extracted from her. The young man was about to lose consciousness, when he was hit by the vital energy. For a moment, he lost his breath, but regained lucidity. Somehow, he felt how the wound in his throat began to close and the broken bones were recovering. Finally, he received a last burst of energy, expelled all the air he had and then breathed deeply ... like a swimmer coming to the surface, his body was trembling, he could not control it.

Then the young goddess sat along him in the floor, took him gently, as if he and no weight and put his head tenderly on her lap, crying with relief. She still had her business card in hand and the blood in it now was mixed with the tears of the goddess.

Gently she caresses his face. She had dreamed about helping this young man, but not like this, what had happened?.

- Somasindhu, can you talk?. Tell me what happened to you, I came to grant you one wish; I am here to help you.

The young man was trying to regain control, finally he exclaimed, pointing to the wall.

- Devi! Rakshasa, Rakshasa, They are hidden there!

Giörel turned to the wall, just in time to see the monstrous beings appear. They really deserved the name given by the boy: "Rakshasa", the evil spirits of Hindu mythology.

The goddess react in time to the threat, She raised her physical barrier, but was exhausted. At the first blow one of them with his powerful fist, her shield was broken and she was thrown against the wall.

The other being took her in his hand, like a broken doll and squeezed. She was more resistant than the mortal was, but was weak and the being oppressed her with his full force. Giörel screamed in pain. Somasindhu felt deep rage against those who were hurting the Devi. He dare to try to rescue her, but was pushed away as if it were an insect and crashed against the wall.

Giörel attempted to defend herself and began a spell to summon the forces of earth, but her body was crushed again and the pain made her lose concentration. Then the being spoke in a raspy and deep voice

- Look, the tiny goddess has guts, do you really want to fight?. It is useless, we just need your heart.

And without saying more, he show her his hideous claws and with them savagely penetrated the chest of the goddess. She screamed in pain as she felt how her body was torn apart.

The awful being pulled his claw out of her and took out something bright. It glowed with a soft light and seemed alive. It was the heart of the goddess.

Then he bursted into a laugh that chilled, and threw the body of Giörel to the floor, as something useless, then went to the wall, where both beings disappeared.

Somasindhu was still stunned by the blow, but made an almost superhuman effort. He approached the body of the girl. Incredibly, she was still alive. The heart of a goddess is the source of her energy and the secret of his knowledge, but her body retained some power, however soon it would be over.

He lifted her in his arms and touched her delicate face. He wept with rage, grief over what happened, and he had not been able to avoid.

Giörel sighted, she had dreamed to be in the arms of this boy, finally she had fulfilled her dream but knew she had little time to live. In the midst of pain over the brutal attack and her deep wounds, she remembered her duty as a goddess.

- Somasindhu, what is your wish? ... What do you most want to be in life?. I have not much time.

He has speechless, what kind of question was that? She was dying!

- Somasindhu, please tell me, I need to hear it before I go.

- A Doctor, I always wanted to be a doctor.

Giörel breathed on last time and concentrate what little energy she had left, then chanted a incomprehensible spell and with her last energy sent a shock of light into the dilapidated phone, then her body began to fade.

- Somasindhu, promise me you'll be a good doctor.

- I promise, I promise, but please do not die! DEVI!

Somasindhu made a painful cry when the girl finally vanished. His arms were empty as it had she been a dream.

Then he saw in the floor the card the goddess had been holding. He took it and read:

- Giörel, First class goddess, second category. Goddess Technical Help Line

Then he pressed the card against his chest and began to mourn.

(End of Chapter VI -rev2)

* * *

notes:

**- Dalit**. Strictly this is not caste, but the name given by themselves for those belonging to the poorer castes in India. Usually it refers to the untouchables. Although officially abolished, there is still much discrimination, especially in the more remote villages.


	7. Chapter 7: Execution

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter** **VII** **Execution**

In Hell, the realm of the demons, an alarm howled and the hearts of its inhabitants were squeezed with fear. The alarm was announcing that someone had violated the doublet system. A god had been killed and a demon soon would share the same fate. It sounded like the cry of a wounded beast. In the vast central that housed Nidhogg, the nerve center of this world, several spheres of light began to form. They were the size of a man and had a hideous greenish tone. They began to move furiously and went along the walks, halls and buildings in this world. They were looking for someone! Simultaneously an announcement echoed everywhere, a powerful and impersonal voice spoke:

- Doublet System activated. The death by violence of the first class Goddess Giörel has been reported. Her doublet will be searched now for execution.

The Shaikh Anan-Reng saw the lights and cursed. How could they have agreed on something like that? Then he saw the lights running toward him and cursed again? Would be him the one chosen to die?

But the lights went past him, and then heard another announcement.

- The doublet of the goddess Giörel had been found: Anang-Reh. He will be placed under supervision. The execution code in his body has been activated. Execution time in one hundred standard cycles.

The Shaikh Aman-Reng saw the lights shining where he had just left his son. He witnessed how he was surrounded by them, and then wrapped him to take him prisoner.

The Doublet system had as purpose, preventing the gods and demons to kill each other. It was a hostage system. If a demon or a god was killed, his doublet was executed. Thus was designed to be as dramatic as possible. I had to cause such terror that no one wanted to activate it since nobody knew who would be their victim. The lighting display, the search and exhibition of the victim followed by a waiting time, so everybody would be able to see the execution, all was carefully crafted to that end. All this had been coldly designed.

The young demon was petrified with surprise, He knew what it meant. The Doublet system code had been inserted into his body years ago, when his soul was paired with his doublet and now it had been activated. His death was already scheduled; there was nothing he could do about it. He had a hundred cycles, about half an hour in earth time, to leave his affairs in order.

Aman-Reng saw helpless, as the spheres carried the prisoner. And then he screamed, fell to his knees and began to mourn not caring about his dignity.

* * *

In New Delhi Somasindhu was still crying when he felt that something was about to happen. A light went through the roof of his room and the dilapidated building shocked. He felt there was a lot of energy as if it announced something powerful. He was filled with terror until realized they were not Rakshasas. This time they were two beautiful women, but in contrast to the sweetness of Giörel, these had a proud expression and were wearing something like uniforms.

One of them approached him and spoke with great poise and authority. She looked at him. Something in her eyes inspired confidence and he felt reassured.

- Do not be afraid. I am Lind, Valkyrie on a special mission. I was assigned to investigate what happened here. You must be Somasindhu. Can you understand me? We need your cooperation.

Somasindhu looked at the face of that beautiful and proud woman. He tried to speak, but his heart was still full of both rage and terror. His body began to tremble.

Lind saw this, and laid her hand on his shoulder. Somasindhu felt comforted by the contact and slowly began to calm down. He was hard trying to understand what was happening. Who were these new Devi?

- Who are you? What are you?

The younger woman, with exasperated attitude exclaimed:

- Lind, what are you waiting for? Just removed his memories!

Lind looked hard on her, leaved the young to confront her.

- Eira, has you forgotten who is your senior? He is a victim and a witness. He is innocent, and remember we expect someone else before proceeding with the investigation.

Her companion looked at her with surprise, Lind was known as one of the stricter and stronger Valkyries. But after spent some time on earth she had returned with a strange gentleness upon her. Lind returned her attention to Somasindhu.

- We come from Heaven. It was decided to grant you a wish, and the goddess Giörel was assigned to make it true of you. But something happened and we only know she died with violence. We have the telemetry that tells us how, but not why or by whom. We are in charge to find and punish the guilty.

The young Hindu did not understand completely, but it was clear they represented some kind of authority. If they wanted to punish the murderers of the unfortunate Devi, he should help them. Still shaken by the experience he found difficult to stand. But the serene and firm look of Lind reassured him. Speaking was difficult, but finally uttered with a great rage in his voice.

- I have been witness of the murder of a Devi. I have seen her suffering. She gave her life for me! You must find the culprit. I will do everything you tell me to do, if that helps. I want to see the guilty punished!

Somasindhu closed his fists in anger. His face usually gentle was full of tears and had an intense expression. Lind looked at him; she liked the young men resolution, for a moment recalled another young mortal who was willing to do anything to protect his goddess. She put her hands on his shoulders to offer comfort and said:

- I know you will do everything you can to help us. The guilty will be punished. Just wait a little more; we need to wait for someone else.

Then the building shook when they saw a new ray of light, this seemed to come from outside and had crossed the wall. It announced great power, but it was different from that of the Valkyries. The whole room shook for a moment, and the light began to fade. As the light disappeared, he could make out the form of another beautiful woman, but she was very different. Her skin was a little darker with a reddish tint like copper, her eyes seemed to have great anger, and also she had red marks on her face. But seeing her mouth, Somasindhu felt terror. Protruding from her lips there were two small fangs. She was a demon!

The young man was about to scream, but soon saw that the other two women looked at her challenging attitude, but it was clear they expected her.

- Marler, It had to be you?

- Why are you surprised? I am the only first-class daemon currently residing on earth.

-Do you know each other? - Asked Eira.

-May I present you to Marler? We are honored to have the almost principal assistant and accomplice of Hild. We had some not very friendly meetings.

Lind look at Marler with fiery eyes, all her life had trained to fight demons. She did not want to work with one.

Marler felt the same. She knew that the Valkyrie was more powerful than her, but at this time she represented Hild´s authority, and could be as challenging as she wanted. She turned to see the other Valkyrie and decided to establish her authority.

-I am Marler. First class demon, unlimited license. I come on behalf of the Daimakaichō´s authority. I am here to verify a violation of the doublet system. It was not done by Hild´s orders. If a demon was the culprit, we must punish him. - She looked with hatred to the Valkyries and concluded - Soon one of us would die. And I want to know why and who is to blame.

Lind made a simple nod indicating that he accepted her authority and his reasons.

- It is your right, if a demon were killed; we too would have to comply with the treaty.

Lind decided it was enough of confrontations, both had a duty.

- This is what we know. The goddess Giörel was assigned to set up a contract with the man Somasindhu Parthasarathi. She came to earth to fulfill her duty. Soon after, the system reported that she had ceased to exist. We do not know the details, but according to the telemetry about her death, her heart was destroyed, since there is no trace of him. I never thought that a demon would be able to perform this kind of act. Giörel was a goddess first class, assigned to the most peaceful of tasks. Why she has been murdered?

- Hild has nothing to do with this. We also want to know what this has happened.

- We have a witness. This mortal saw everything that happened.

She approached the young man and took him to Marler.

- Somasindhu please let us take your memories.

Somasindhu just nodded. He felt great confidence in this Devi Valkyrie, but did not want to go near this demon.

Marler! The name reminded him of Mara, the demon that had tried to seduce the Buddha. And from what he had heard, these Valkyries thought it was a demon who had murdered the Devi. But the nearness of Lind reassured him.

Lind touched the forehead of the young and intoned a spell, she was from the combat élite and one of her skills was the interrogation.

The thoughts and memories of the young began to take shape and projected outside his own mind into the women. The memories were confusing, the brain is not a recorder, the memories are stored in terms of what each people can understand and there was much the young man could not grasp of this attack. Lind asked some questions to help him focus. Memories gradually became more focused and became clearer. The images they saw were horrid.

Eventually the three women were horrified by the brutality of the attack. Lind had been in real combat and yet had never seen an attack so brutal. But something was clear, the attackers were not demons. They were something much worse.

Marler was the first to speak; she was equally impressed as the Valkyries. Her voice trembled and spoke rapidly, she had to act urgently.

- This was not an attack from my people. The memory of this man is not clear, but I am sure those markings and that race are not demons. We have to report immediately or there will be an unnecessary death. We must act to stop the execution. Lind! I trust your honor that you will do best to avoid it. I must report immediately to Hild.

She disappeared in a flash of light. But she could not travel directly to the underworld, she needed to find a portal and there was so little time. She had not dare to seek other means of communication. While she needed to report directly to the supreme leader, with Hild. Something told her not to talk with anyone else or trough insecure ways.

Lind commented to her companion.

- His heart was torn out. The whole essence of a goddess that there, but her personality has been destroyed. Someone wants to learn about the gods and does not care how he does it. There is a ruthless power that threatens us. And besides, the doublet system has been activated.

Lind felt despair since she was unable to do anything. She had no love for the demons, but did not like the thought of an innocent´s execution. Yet she better than anyone, knew it was inevitable. Nothing could stop the execution of Giörel´s doublet. The destruction code had been activated and nothing could stop it, otherwise it would have been a futile system

She took the old phone with some fatalism. There was no means of direct communication between the Earth and other worlds. But Yggdrasil and Nidhogg had made indirect connections with the communication systems of the earth. She spoke quickly explaining the situation, but by the end she just listened and got a bit pale, then received further instructions. She hung up slowly

- It´s too late, the execution has already been done.

- It´s only a dead demon. Why do you care?

- It was an unnecessary death and it was wrong. Giörel death was not the work of demons, there is another enemy is unknown. Now we must report. I was instructed to keep this secret. We are not sure what will happen, but we have reports that Hild is on the edge of lose her leadership. If she falls, the doublet system may be challenged and there will be war. This incident may be enough for that.

- War? Is not what we've prepared all along?

- You are young and do not know what is war, real war. You only know combat simulations where if you fail, there will be another opportunity. We have prepared, so there is no war. We train to avoid it.

- And this mortal?

The Valkyrie asked, pointing to the young man. He had not understood the later developments. Demons? Doublet system? Execution? War? Lind went with the young, step in front on him and spoke:

-Somasindhu, I solemnly promise to found and punish the guilty. But for the moment I have to block your memory. None of this should be known, please trust me. What you should do is to fulfill the last wish of Giörel, and with that honor her.

The boy clenched his fists in anger, but put his hopes in this Devi. He Nodded

- Do what you have to do, if that helps. I accept your word.

Lind looked at him gratefully and started a spell to set up a block in his mind. When she finished, the boy lost consciousness. Lind took him and easily carried in her arms, gently leave him in the cot. The other Valkyrie looked at her with surprise.

- You did not erase his memory, you just blocked it. Why? He still may remember.

- He the only witness of terrible crime and we will see troublesome times. Demons will accuse us of killing the innocent. If we delete completely his memory, we will look guilty. Now, clean this building, erase the memories you need to erase, but leave him alone. That is your duty, I will leave you now. Lind Salute her, made a bow, and disappeared. The other Valkyrie looked around in disgust, and began her duty as damage control specialist... Now do your job. Restore the area and erase memories that may show our presence. This is why you are here. But leave him alone.

Lind disappeared and Eira looked around in disgust. She was "damage control specialist, she would have to find witnesses, and delete or replace their memories. Also to restore damages and create havoc if necessary as distractions. She looked at the unconscious mortal and leaved him alone under the command of Lind. For the first time, she had made a mistake, just one tiny error: she forgot to check his pockets.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Hell, the underworld …

The Shaikh Aman-Reng was receiving the ornaments that served to mark the caste and status of his son. His body had been cleanly disintegrated. This was supposed to be honorable, but for him this was a vacuous ceremony. Once marked for execution, his son had been free to move as he wished until the last minutes when his execution should be public. There was no way to escape his fate.

His son had recorded several crystals with messages. One was for Marler, but was encrypted so he could not read it. Only she could open it. He was reluctant to deliver it. But he had made a contract with his son and must comply.

During his last moments, his son had told him some of his future plans, the entire thing that now he would never do. He had planned to win Hild´s confidence, to be one his bodyguards, his faithful follower, and then get her to listen to other voices. Aman-Reng did not understand, even as his son was going to die for the doublet system, he remained confident on Hild and asked not to act against her. Yet he refused to give all his reasons.

The boy had bravely faced his end; he was convinced it was his duty to accept death to preserve peace. But his father did not think the same. He shuddered with hatred. Hatred for Hild, hatred for the doublet system, and above all, hatred for the gods. There were tears on his face, but they were for pain and that made them much more terrible. He thought to seek the demon who killed the goddess, but was not sure if he wanted to torment and kill him slowly, thank him for giving a reason for his hate, or both.

* * *

In New Delhi.

Somasindhu awoke in his cot. He felt as if awakening from a nightmare, but could not remember anything. He got up and felt pain in the body, but had no marks or injuries. He saw his room but there were no signs that anything had happened out of the ordinary. The building had been restored by magic. Lind's companion had done her job well so he knew nothing about it.

At the distance he heard the phone and someone was yelling for him, so he ran to answer.

It was the scholarship committee, apologizing because for a strange error on the system he had not been notified, but suddenly an hour, mysteriously the system had been restored. They have just received a report from the main computer system, and he was marked as the highest priority. Soon he would receive the first check of the scholarship and would be visited by authorities to hasten his registration. Classes were about to begin and it was urgent to fix the problem. He received a lot of apologies as if a higher authority were supervising his case now.

Somasindhu could not believe it. Finally he received his scholarship, yet felt something was wrong.

Back to his room, he felt hungry and automatically looked in his pockets for money, instead he found something that should not be there. It was a card. He did not remember, but when the Valkyries appeared he had put it in his pocket, without thinking.

It was a strange material, soft and pleasant to the touch, but it had something that looked like blood stains and water stains, for some reason, to his mind came the word "tears". He shuddered at the touch of the stains. There are legends about the power of a goddess tears, he was going to found out. He saw the water stains emitted a soft glow, and touched them. He felt a warm and soothing emotion and gradually he felt as if a mist vanished from his mind.

Then he read the card, there was a strange name. "Giörel first class goddess".

The name and power of tears of the goddess make their effect. The block in his mind suddenly disappeared and the flood of memories fell on his conscience. Because the questioning by Lind, now the memories were clear. Painfully clear.

He dropped to the floor in pain. What could he do? He remembered everything, the death of Giörel, the Valkyries, and the demon. The Devi, Lind, had said that this should be kept secret, but the paint burn on him. He wished to scream the truth. It was too much pain to being able to shut up.

As a robot, he went to the street, aimlessly, what to do? Who could he talk? In ancient times he would have sought a priest, and maybe his tale would have started a legend, but in the XXI century, things were different.

He crossed the crowd, he did not know where he was, and then he looked at a familiar place. The owner of the Internet café was an acquaintance, a friendly young who sometimes let him use the computers, in return for some medical advice. Then he remembered his blog. His friend helped him create one to teach him what blogs were, but no one was visiting it. Apparently few people wanted to know the thoughts of a young man of the caste of untouchables, but he could not think of anything else. In a way, he could write whatever he wanted, but nobody would read it.

He entered the café, his friend saw him and asked for some medical advice for his old aunt, but when his saw him so disturbed decided to let him speak first.

Somasindhu tried to tell him what had happened, but his friend found the story incredible, and stopped him. He agreed to help but did not want to know more He took the card to scan it. He found he was shivering in contact with these stains. Without knowing why, suddenly he agreed with all and made every effort to help

A few hours later Somasindhu came out of the café. Writing his story helped him to calm down. He did not care if anyone read it, but his testimony was there.

Finally arrived to his room, he had spent his last rupees on something to eat, and carried some food. Yet suddenly he forgot about it.

He stood in the middle, not knowing what to do. Yet felt there something to be done. Then he remembered something. He looked into the cardboard boxes where his few belongings were. Finally found a package sent to him by his mother, but she had not wanted to unpack.

It was a small shrine with pictures of some of their gods, gods that did not believe in. It was a family treasure, not for its value, it was very humble yet it had been in the family for generations. Then cleaned it, and took away all its content. Ceremoniously he hung it on a wall and placed the goddess card in it. She was his Devi. She had died for him, and now had an opportunity, now he will be a doctor. He lit an incense stick, said a prayer and then exclaimed with his full resolution.

- I'll fulfill your wish, mi Devi!

* * *

In Yggdrasil, a distraught Othala was sitting in Giörel´s place. She could not understand what had happened. Murdered! The death of an immortal being is something that hurts very deep.

Suddenly she saw activity on the console. But Giörel was dead! There should be no activity. Then saw it as a mission report.

The reading of these impersonal symbols led her to tears:

_- Mission report for Giörel, goddess first class, unlimited:_

_- Mission: To concede a wish to the mortal being Somasindhu Parthasarathi. _

_- Mission Status: Completed. Wish granted. _

_- Long term expectations: _

_- The forecast predicts a 99.9% certainty in the scope of: _**M**_aximum _**D**_istribution of Happiness. _

_- It's been recorded as success. _

_- Mission completed beyond expectations. A recommendation has been recorded in the file. _

The young goddess had fulfilled her last duty.

End of Chapter VII -rev 3


	8. Chapter 8 About Primates and love

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter VIII  
Primates and love**

The elegant auditorium of the University of Chiba was full of activity. Inside there was the most diverse collection of human specimens that one could imagine. People of all races and nationalities, were arguing cheerfully in a dozen languages as they walked to their seats. It had already been announced soon would begin the keynote address. However, there was a commotion among the first rows. People refused to move away from there, everyone had heard rumors and wanted to check personally about them.

The reason for the tumult of course, was Urd. Today her attire was not as revealing as usual, but it was impossible for her to go unnoticed. She wore an elegant gown and with her usual fashion sense, it enhanced her figure and beauty. Dr. Shugahara was also uncomfortable being the center of attention. All wanted to know about the woman who seemed to have made it to the heart of the doctor.

But Urd´s beauty was not the only reason about everyone curiosity. Her presentation badge, and idea of Shugahara, also caused interest:

- _Urd: Enchantress._ _Specialist in Nordic magic spells and remedies._

Besides being the center of attention, there was another reason for the nervousness of the doctor. He could not help thinking that technically this was their first date. Of course for many people, to invite a beautiful woman to something called **"Fifth International Congress of Ethnobotany, ethno pharmacology and phytochemistry"** could hardly be called a date. But the enthusiasm displayed by Urd, showed the doctor it have been a good idea. Still he had not expected to cause such uproar.

The doctor knew about these conferences, and had hoped to pass unnoticed among some of its most striking colleagues, as these scientists were not common kind. Ethnobotany is a relatively new science, a mixture of anthropology, ethnography, botany and pharmacology, and has brought together a strange mix of people. Indeed, some of them just seemed to come out right of the set of an Indiana Jones movie. Dr. David Winston even was wearing a fedora. If it were not for the Japanese authorities who are extremely sensitive and strict about weapons he would not have hesitated to bring his trusty "six-shooter".

Yet it really was inevitable attention. The room was filled with colleagues and friends he knew from long time, and although some came from places across the world in this era of e-mail and Twitter, rumors run at speed of light. So the news that the sober and correct Dr. Shugahara had finally found someone special, was for them an event.

Urd in turn, was fascinated with this diverse human fauna. The opportunity to meet specialists in medicine, magic and medicinal plants from five continents had seemed fascinating, but she also had an interest in meeting with the primates. After Dr. Shugahara had explained to her the purpose of the primates, she was sure to be able to recognize them by their auras and now watched around with interest.

After the tumult had calm down, Dr. Shugahara was able to point to her some of the more interesting characters, yet the list seemed endless. Indeed there was, wearing a flowered shirt, Dr. Tamimi, a specialist on plants from Hawaii. Dr. David Winston, who despite the name, was a real Cherokee healer with a PhD in phytochemistry and wore a striking necklace of bones and feathers. Also with an eye-catching clothes and wide turban was Mr. Shubashini Sripathi specialist on healing traditions of India.

Among the crowd, Urd saw a small man who seemed he was not used to wearing clothes. Those he had were old and worn. She asked about his identity. She laughed when the Doctor simulated a spider with his hands and then pointed to his mouth... Yes, it was Amasina, Amazonian shaman, chef and special guest of Dr. Shugahara.

In this place the titles of doctor, chemist, biochemist, pharmacologist and anthropologist, mingled with the shaman, healer, witch and... Now, enchantress.

There was last an announce and the inaugural speech of the congress began, headed by Sir Richard Evans Schultes himself, which some participants jokingly called "El Padre", as the founder of this area of research.

The old researcher was proud of his two titles. MBBS and Amazonian shaman. It took him several years of living in the jungle to get this last title and it boasted it with pride. Dr. Evans had a great personality, and did not dislike the nickname given by his colleagues.

The speech was short, but substantial. They were still a relatively small community, and practically everyone knew each other, so formalities were unnecessary.

Exactly this was something that Urd found interesting, this heterogeneous mix of humanity, had a great camaraderie and it showed on their auras. Rarely had she been able to observe such collection of beautiful human auras. But he had to admit, none of them was as beautiful as the doctor´s.

There was also a small group of people who did not belong to this community. They were from the university who wanted to meet the woman who had bewitched the doctor. While everyone was convinced that only a special woman could have so much in the doctor, Urd´s presence had its effect. To many it seemed incredible that the doctor was with such a beautiful woman, so rumors about the magical abilities of the Dr. began to spread

At this point, Urd had to admit that she was still not sure about her feelings towards the Doctor, they had met just two weeks ago, yet somehow it seemed a lifetime.

The long sessions of collaboration between the two had been unexpected fruits. Completely opposite views, strangely had converged on the same points. Keiichi had told her jokingly, finally he would know what would happen if an irresistible force met an immovable body, and she had to accept on several occasions the doctor had driven her to the border of explosion, only to disarm her with some unexpected humorous remark. The confrontation Keiichi was waiting never happened. Instead they began to share vulnerabilities and slowly they had come much closer.

Urd had learned what can be accomplished a methodical work, and some of her potions were now true precision instruments, much more powerful than some verbal spells. The doctor had understood the value of intuition and spontaneity.

But maybe what really moved Urd was the subject of the primates. A couple of days ago, a discussion had begun about a substance the Doctor had been particularly insistent on simplifying a process of synthesis. Urd vividly recalled the conversation:

- Kenji, why you insist on simplify so much the synthesis procedure? I can do it without any difficulty and you can synthesize it in your lab.

- Yes, but in the way you do it, there is no one else who could reproduce your method. And I have only been able to make a few milligrams with my method. What I want is something that any laboratory can synthesize without problems.

- But why do you want to do it? I do not understand your insistence...

Dr. Shugahara doubted ... from the look on his eyes it was clear he wanted to explain but he felt insecure...

- I know this is a minor compound in your potions, but for me it is very important, it's a small molecule. That means it can easily penetrate through almost any tissue in the human body, but more important. Part of the molecular chain can be modified to be attracted only by certain cells and in other part of the molecule; different compounds can be attached so the molecule act as a carrier.

- And what will you do with that?

He took a model of the molecule done with plastic spheres and explained to Urd. - For example, I can make this part of the molecule to be attracted to elements of cancer cells, and attach here a molecule that destroys them. In medicine there is an old concept called the "magic bullet", about substances that only target bacteria, now instead of bullet, this is a kind of molecular missile, that search a target and drops it´s load to destroy it. That the idea, this salt, this small molecule could be the cure to many cancers in parts of the body that where our medicines cannot reach.

Urd laugh at the idea - So instead of a magic bullet you want a guided missile? That is a very interesting idea. Kenji, why did you not tell me that is what you wanted? I can prepare it for you in all the quantities you want.

- Urd, I know, but there is only one of you. If we simplify the process, any laboratory anywhere in the world would be able to synthesize it. It is best if we teach how to make it and many more will have access to it.

- And then, you would sell it to pharmaceutical companies? They have paid you for other formulas.

Dr. Shugahara laugh nervously, it was obvious he wanted to say something and did not knew where to start.

- Yes, I have sold them some salts I have obtained in my researches. But the big pharmaceutical companies earn more with the OTC formulas, formulas they can sell in large quantities. They can earn much more with a remedy for indigestion than one that will cure cancer and would take ten years more of research before it will be approved. I have a better future for this; I will channel it through the primates.

- What! The Primates...? Kenji! I think you should explain it from the beginning

The doctor took a deep breath, Urd already knew the symptoms. He wanted to say one of his stories.

- Years ago, when I began to learn the history of Urth, I loved the concept of the sisterhood she created, where women were taught to heal and so multiplied what she could do. I dreamed to do the same- Urd felt a rush on her heart at this declaration - I talked privately to colleagues and friends that I knew had similar dreams and finally we create a kind of organization.

- And I guess it was your idea that name. Primates? It really sounds like your sense of humor.

The doctor smiled shyly, he had suggested the name and his colleagues were delighted.

- Yes it was my idea. We are just beginning; we organized small laboratories in the neediest parts of the world. They manufactured some essential medicines and formulas and are distributed by noncommercial channels. Most of them are designed to be use in a very simple form, and we teach a lot of people how to use them we know what the big pharmaceutical companies want, I already gave them very special medicines much more powerful than anything they got. They are happy with them. We can provide them and yet kept the more special things for us. But also, we look for people like Amasima who us using traditional medicines, they can share knowledge with us. And we can return it; we can teach them new uses for what they know and how to use modern medicine when available. While they have old remedies, we can make them more powerful. Amasima already know that antibiotics are more powerful against infections than any of his remedies, and no traditional medicine so far works against cancer. And I am going to prove it to him. I invited him to Japan, because he has cancer and I am going to cure him. - The doctor spoke this with fire in his eyes, she could see his aura grow with the emotion, and already was feeling it´s warmth - I'm sure it will be possible, but also, and maybe more important, I want him to learn how to do it by himself, and in turn teach to others. But in a way he did not need a modern laboratory, out of the reach of many people. We are working somehow like the old sisterhood, but there is no one at the front. I do not consider myself better than any other member. That is my dream, and we're working on making it real. - He looked at Urd like a student seeking the approval of his teacher. It was the first time she saw him so insecure. Urd began to understand why he admired "Urth" - I hope you do not seem too Utopian dream...

Urd's eyes were wet; she recalled her former life and her dreams of helping mortals... Would it be possible to revive that feeling?

- Kenji, why did you not tell me that before?

- Maybe because I'm used that only few share my dreams, maybe because to a lot of people sound childish, maybe because... - He look at her eyes but never finished his words.

Urd thought for a moment and then her eyes lit up with an inner fire, not very different to the one she saw in the doctor´s eyes. The doctor was providing her with a new purpose and a new challenge! She already felt tears were about to form, so with resolution she answered.

- Kenji, we are losing time. We will repeat the procedure from the beginning. I'm sure we can greatly simplify it - and both continued to work, with their hearths joined to the same goal.

Now in the hall of the university, Urd was almost sure to have identified the members of the brotherhood of primates. The aura of a dreamer is unmistakable.

To see them and know what they intended to do remind her of her old dreams.

She closed her eyes while thinking on the women she had taught. She could still remember their names. All of them had died long time ago, but they had spread some of her teachings and as Belldandy had told her, they had spread far beyond her expectations. Those women had respected her, but also, she had to admit that some had feared her and never managed to turn friends.

But now she had learned and changed, and humanity as well. Maybe... now things could be so different. She felt that this small group of men and women that wanted to create this new fraternity could make a difference. Maybe they could see her as one more of this group, not as a distant deity.

Suddenly a powerful voice distracted from her thoughts ... It was "El padre"

- Doctor Shugahara is a pleasure to see you again.

- Doctor Evans-San, I am very pleased to meet you again. Welcome to my university. I would like to introduce you to Urd-san - The doctor could not avoid to be overwhelmed by the expansive personality of Dr. Evans.

- Shugahara, you are always so formal, does not matter if you're in college or in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Urd! Such a beautiful name! Is a name of a Goddess, if I recall correctly. - The old man took the hand of Urd, and with an elegant and spontaneous gesture, kissed her hand. - You are extremely beautiful; certainly you look like a goddess, or at least as an enchantress. I'm sure is not the first time you heard that, but if what I heard about you is true, behind your beauty there is also a great wisdom. It is a pleasure to meet you. Doctor, let me took her from your side. I will exercise the prerogatives of an old man!

Urd smiled at that old fox, who enjoyed his role as scientific patriarch and counterattacked...

- Sensei Evans, if half the things I've heard from you are true. You are a living legend.

- Hear that "Kenji-sama" - The old man smiled seeing the Doctor reaction at his perfectly calculated wrong use of the Japanese honorifics - Now I understand how this young woman put a spell on you. Please young lady, come with me and will introduce you to some of my colleagues from our gang of primates, I believe Dr. Shugahara already has talked to you about them. The doctor is very selfish if he want to deprive us of your company.

The old man took her hand and put it in his arm to take her away. She smiled as the bewildered Dr. Shugahara was dismissed. She gestured a Bye-bye with her hand.

Dr. Evans began a casual conversation, intermixing some comments on some exotic plants and their properties, and then waiting for Urd´s comments. She knew that he was testing her. But he did not feel offended. Urd realized how much he appreciate Dr. Shugahara. He was just making sure she was up to the doctor and not just a pretty face. Urd soon pass the "examination" of the old man and was presented to several of the more exotic characters from that meeting.

The last one was the Shaman of the Amazon. Urd impressed everyone speaking a perfect Guaraní. Amasima proved to be very pleasant and spoke wonders about the doctor. Then he took a small bundle and took form it some plants and began to explain their properties, Urd took them and analyze with her extraordinary senses and began explain the properties he did not know about them. Then Urd spoke a few inaudible words with Amasima, she put her hand on his chest, and began a strange chant. Almost no one noticed. Urd used her magic and soon had her own diagnostic. Yes, it was cancer, still was small, it was a tribute to Dr. Shugahara to detect it so early, so it would be easily cured. She looked at Amasima´s eyes; he smiled, put his hand on his chest and nodded to Urd. He looked relieved, he already knew about it, but he was happy to have "a second opinion". Amasima was fascinated with this white woman, this witch, who not only spoke his language so beautifully, but she had real magic and could understand his plants. So he took his pack of plants and offered it to her.

That started the whole confusion. Suddenly everyone wanted to offer her some exotic plant, as a token to that beautiful woman who seemed to know much about them. Urd was really having a lot of fun, she not only appreciate those plants, since there were many new to her, but she felt identified with this collection of mortals and commented:

- Thanks, I wish I could show you my lab in exchange...

Hearing this, some took the proposal as an offer. A voice said:

- Yes, please, I would like to know the place of genuine enchantress.

Soon there was a lot of requests, Urd began to think, why not? It was time that she also had some fun. She raised her voice so doctor Shugahara could listen.

- Kenji, let's invite them, I think that there is no problem and it will be fun

"Kenji?"... There was a general exclamation of astonishment and all eyes turned to see Dr. Shugahara, who despite his tan, this time his change of color was easily observed. The doctor nodded not daring to say anything.

Dr. Evans saved Dr. Shugahara from feeling more uncomfortable diverting the general attention. With a gesture he silenced them, and looked around with disapproval. Then commented

- We should not force their hospitality. What can you offer in exchange?

And then he heard several voices answering.

- I have a bottle of whiskey!

- And I have tequila!

A varied listing was heard: Absinthe, rum, vodka, Ranco, Palinka, Maotai and other drinks with more exotic names. Certainly this bunch of people had special tastes. The varied alcoholic menu finally convinced Urd.

- Okay, We'll go to my lab - There was a general cheer, Urd had to raise her arms to silence them - Those who do not know the place of **Tarikihongan temple,** may follow Dr. Shugahara´s car, we will meet there.

An hour later, a noisy gang of anthropoids invaded the tranquility of the **Tarikihongan temple**. Aided by local talents from the Chiba University, some managed to go faster than the tiny car of the doctor.

Unfortunately, the welcoming committee was in charge of Banpei Kun, the guardian robot, who tried to stop the invasion, but the numerical superiority and the high IQ of the invaders, were too much for the android, yet there were some minor casualties, vodka had to be taken out of the menu.

Belldandy and Keiichi suddenly felt overwhelmed by the invasion, but fortunately Urd and Dr. arrived in time to explain what it was. Belldandy was delighted to meet the new friends of her sister. Fortunately she and Keiichi had experiences with the unexpected visits by the Motor Club gang. Belldandy, as if by magic, prepared snacks and food for everyone. The invaders were fascinated by this new pretty young enchantress. Fortunately the invaders, despite the loud noises they made, were mostly adults and could take care of themselves, so despite the apparent confusion, the young couple did not have to work too hard.

Keiichi already had a deep respect for "Sensei Shugahara", so he did everything possible to help. Due to the size of the horde, Urd had to divide her guests and arrange "tours" to her lab to show some her potions. She even organized some magic demonstrations that were acclaimed. But after a while it became a bit monotonous, so she commissioned Keiichi as director of the Tour, even taught him to use some magic potions to make the demonstrations. Keiichi was happy at the idea. Usually Urd did not like anyone to touch her potions, so to be able to do some magic fascinated him.

While attending his duties as director of entertainment, Keiichi suddenly found three specimens that appeared to be from a different species if not a different genus. Short-sleeved shirt, tie ridiculously thins, but above all, the pocket protector, the universal symbol of the Nerd. Keiichi recognize those were his brother engineers, but from the computing subspecies. Two were very young; the older seemed to be their Sensei. He approached him and with a nod spoke:

- Sorry for the inconvenience, I'm Dr. Izuka Kawazu, I hope not to be impertinent, but when we knew people would come to this place we decide to join the group. Could you tell you where to find Skuld-san? For my students and me would be an honor to meet her.

Keiichi opened his mouth without daring to say anything. This man was another personality that he had heard about. Finally managed to respond:

- Of course, please come here, I am sure she would be very happy to meet you- He took them to Skuld's room and knocked the door...

- Skuld you have important visits.

Keiichi felt happy when he saw the face full wonder of Skuld at meeting Dr. Kawazu and his students. Despite everything, he liked her to be happy. Skuld was very possessive towards Belldandy since she was almost her substitute mother. This put Keiichi in the uncomfortable place of "aspiring step father", that was the main reason of her hostility toward him. But the kind heart of Keiichi was willing keep trying.

Meanwhile Urd was with the main group. She had not expected them to be so many, so the group had to split in smaller portions and spread to the garden. She was having fun being the host, went from group to group, chatting, exchanging views, e-mails, cards and above all drinks. Of course she was not giving her goddess card, but her enchantress card, yet she felt happy about that title since she felt more deserving of her abilities.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice, a voice that caused a stir of emotion. But it was impossible... - That voice? She turned around and saw a man, facing away from her, talking to others. His appearance was more formal because unlike most, wore an elegant suit, but this could not hide a well-formed and muscular body, also had a long blond hair. Urd slowly approached the group where the man was. His companions became silent when they saw her approach, and the man turned around to her. Seeing her, exclaimed in surprise:

_- Urd Hétueina, Darraðarljóð?_

Those words, this aristocratic face, the nose slightly aquiline. Could it really be Fafnir? Urd felt weak and about to faint. But suddenly she felt supported by arms surrounding her and bringing her comfort. Dr. Shugahara was holding her and said worried.

- Urd you feel bad? ... There is something you upsetting you?

Urd took the doctor's hand, her warmth brought her peace.

- Thanks, I feel better now, I just wanted to know...

She looked to see that man. There was no way it could be Fafnir! But who was him? The doctor saw her questioning look and hurried a comment.

- Let me introduce you to Professor Jan Krogh Danielsen from the University of Oslo, European specialist in ancient languages, he is in charge of the digital reconstruction of the palimpsest of Urth.

If Urd was impressed, it was clear that man too. But ultimately he was able to speak.

- You even more beautiful than Dr. Shugahara told me: _Nottvardtbae, Norn kvómo Thaeröð lingial drerums kopos:_

Urd sighed to hear those words. She had heard Fafnir singing this poem. But this man was not Fafnir, maybe he could speak Old Norse, but it was clear this was not his native language. The impact slowly began to dissolve as she began to see the subtle, but important differences between this man and Fafnir, after a short pause, she replied.

- _Bannfy lki Saturday, frægs tantruth, okbuðlunga, bestþikkia._ . Yes, it's one of my favorite poems. Professor Danielsen, Are you really a warrior who invokes the Norns protection?

- What a beautiful accent you have. I spent years studying and yet never could say that way, exactly as must have sounded. Pardon the rudeness, but I think I've seen you before?

Doctor Shugahara interrupted the dialogue to clarify.

- Professor Danielsen´s family has a long lineage that can lead to the descendants of the dynasty of Widukind. If you had seen something of the Old Norse and Saxon art, you find a strong resemblance with those old images of the family.

Urd closed her eyes and meditate for a moment, could be that this man was a descendant of Fafnir´s family, and that by a twist of fate he would have been so similar.

- That that should be the reason. If I had met you in person, I could never forget about it. - Suddenly, Urd exclaimed - Come on Kenji, there are some guests I want to know.

Professor Danielsen stayed still while the couple went away ... He said not a word, but was obviously very upset, and ignored their colleagues who tried to distract him.

While walking away, again Urd was kidnapped by Dr. Evans, who wanted to speak with her. She allowed him since she was still thinking about Prof. Danielsen. Also Dr. Shugahara was trying to analyze what had happened. He knew there was something going between Professor Danielsen and Urd, but he could not understand. Meanwhile, Urd was not listening to Dr. Evans, she was trying to analyze her feelings. That man was almost identical with Fafnir, maybe a few weeks ago she had run into his arms driven by the pain of their loss. But now she knew it was not in the arms of that man where she would feel comfortable. She looked at Dr. Shugahara, who was at the other end of the room. He still carried a glass of sake that she had served him more than an hour ago. She knew he still was not used to drink it, yet he would drink with her, it was a simple gesture that meant a lot to her. Finally she took a decision, said goodbye to Dr. Evan and went to meet Dr. Shugahara.

He met her gaze and knew it was time to talk. He looked at the glass of sake and took a big sip. The taste of alcohol stimulated him, He need it, and then heard the voice of Urd speaking so that everyone could hear:

- Dr. Shugahara Kenji. I have to say something ... I hate your tie!

There was a round of applause. Most agreed, although it was because many had not used one in decades, not because they possessed a high sense of aesthetics.

Urd stood in front of an astonished doctor and with a studied coquetry, began to untie the knot.

There was a general silence; the slow and deliberate movements of Urd had a big load of sensuality that impressed everybody. She took the two ends of the tie and rolled them in her hands, then began to attract him. He had no chance of escape, and exclaimed:

- But I think I like you!

There was general sigh, and murmurs of approval. Dr. Shugahara recovered and counterattacked:

- Urd, You are my passion, my life and my love.

A general "ah!" was heard. Then a brief applause when the Doctor, going against his instincts, placed his hands on the hips of Urd.

- Kenji, I know I'll make you suffer - while she attracted him more towards her.

- Urd! I give my life for you - He got little closer to those lips that quivered in anticipation.

There was applause, but the noise caused the doctor to lose his confidence, he remembered he was in public. For a traditional Japanese, to kiss in public is as bad as walking naked into the street. Fortunately, the queer sense of humor of the doctor saved him. - "Kenji" - thought to himself - "These are your colleagues and many of them have already see you naked..." - He smiled mischievously at the thought and then covered those last few centimeters.

Their lips met slowly, while giving time to their senses to become intoxicated by the others presence. In the room was complete silence. They simply could not speak; it was felt as it were a sacrilege to interrupt. The doctor lost track of time, he could not say if the kiss had lasted seconds or centuries. But he had no doubt he wanted to repeat the experience. Meanwhile, none of the spectators had moved, it would be like interrupting a sacred ritual.

Dr. Evans finally reacted and started signaling. It seemed a general leading a group of soldiers, it was easy, many of them had experience in the jungle and knew how to avoid make noise. In absolute silence the pick up everything and left the room. The two lovers never knew when finally they were alone. When the group was out, in absolute silence of the temple, Urd´s voice reached them.

- Kenji. I also hate your suit...

* * *

- Sensei, Sensei, good morning.

The doctor heard a sweet and distant voice. But he could not understand what she was saying.

- Sensei, Sensei. Your bath is ready.

The voice was heard nearer, would he be dreaming? ... It was like **déjà vu, **he had the feelingthat happened before. He opened his eyes and saw a very soft light, like the one before dawn. All was surrounded by soft red glow as if the first rays of the sun would like to announce his impending arrival.

And then he began to remember. Not this time he had no headache, on the contrary, he felt more energy than ever, and that soft oppression he felt on his chest, he knew very well what it was. He could feel Urd´s naked body against his own body.

Turning toward the voice and spoke cheerfully:

- Ohio Belldandy-san.

- Sensei, I see you feel great.

- Better than ever.

The doctor straightened up slowly and very gently moved Urd to the futon, taking care not to wake her. He put aside the blanket, and was shocked with admiration to see Urd´s perfect nude body.

- Sensei, you can come with me.

The doctor was getting up, when turned to see Urd and saw those lips that had intoxicate his soul. Instead of listening to Belldandy, he approached and gave them a gentle kiss. He was learning to follow his feelings. Urd woke up and placed his arms around the Doctor and gave him a long kiss, then the doctor joyfully commented:

- So the old legends are true, a kiss can wake up a sleeping beauty...

- Kenji, you are a dangerous man, you learn too quickly! - Then she turned to see Belldandy, and with a mischievous voice told her:

- Doctor Shugahara still does not have permission to leave.

The doctor smiled, remembering the words of Belldandy: "my sister would not let anything happen that she does not want" ... and now I understand perfectly.

Belldandy smiled shyly before the couple and left quietly. But outside of the room, dropped to the floor and began to cry.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Doctor Shugahara got back to his apartment. His appearance was unrecognizable. His inseparable tie had gone, his shirt was not completely buttoned, and brought his jacket hanging from one shoulder. He walked slowly, lost in thoughts. Somehow, even he even looked younger.

He climbed the stairs slowly, not because he was tired, but because he simply wanted to enjoy walking. He turned around to see everything as if it was the first time, his world view had been changed, and everything that once was familiar, had acquired a new meaning. He got to the hallway where his department was, and in the front door, he saw a man huddled on the floor...

- Professor Danielsen? What are you doing here?

- Dr. Shugahara! Thank God you come! Your administrator was about to call the police, I could not make it clear to him.

Dr. Shugahara quickly opened his department to let Prof Danielsen to get in. He seemed deeply upset and looked he needed rest.

- Please come, what can I offer to you?

- Do you have something to drink?

- Do you want tea?

- No! Something ... Something stronger, you know... alcohol!

- Ah! I do not usually drink. Let me see... I remember, I have something here, it was a gift from a colleague years ago.

From a shelf he took a dusty bottle with a decorative container that did not augur much about its content, it was one of those bottles of sake that are sold to tourists, but for Professor Danielsen was more than enough. Generously poured it´s content into a glass and emptied quickly. He grimaced at the taste; it seemed he would have preferred something stronger. Still, he seemed relieved.

- Now would you tell me you what are you doing here?

- I tried your cell phone, but was dead, and then phone to your house but nobody answered me. The university authorities reluctantly agreed to give me your address.

- But what is the reason for all this, last night you could have talked to me.

- Last night I did not expect to feel like I do today. I could not I gave an important question to do. Dr. Shugahara, please tell me the truth, who is Urd?

Dr. Shugahara smiled, he had wondered about that for weeks.

- Professor Danielsen. If you ask me as a scientist, I must say I do not know. There are many mysteries in Urd.

- And what is your opinion as a man.

- That Urd is an extraordinary woman. Professor breathed relieved, but after a short pause, Dr. Shugahara continued speaking: - But I am also convinced that she is the goddess Urth.

After the last statement Professor Danielsen was white and seemed about to collapse.

- Doctor, from what know about you, an assumption of yours is worth more than the facts of most men. But I cannot accept it. She? A goddess? The same woman or enchantress that was here 1,200 years ago?

- That's exactly what I think, but I accept have no real proof, and yet I do not longer care.

- You love her so much?

- More than I thought it would be possible.

- So you think it's true? I have never expected that picture in the palimpsest would become something so real and tangible.

- She is very real - Said the Doctor, remembering her trembling lips.

- But I do not want to accept it. Last night I met many of your colleagues. It seems they are willing to accept fantasies like magic, spells and pagan gods.

- Dr. Shugahara expressed discomfort at this statement about his colleagues. He stared at the professor, put his hand on the shoulder and told him.

- A famous scientist wrote: "A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

- Technology?

- Yes, I have studied what you call "Magic", I accept not all claims are real, but there some that is real, I've been able to see it in action, measure it, and even replicate and predict its effects. Like a good scientist has to do.

- I cannot accept it. I am a scientist and goes against my religion. But... - He paused, as if afraid of his own doubts - But if it were true, then I have to give you this.

He took two packages he was carrying in his briefcase. Put on the table and began to unpack them while explaining.

- I come from a family that values our ancient roots and traditions. When I turned 18, my father took me to the vault at the bank where we keep the family objects of value, and gave me a key. I opened the safe box up and among its contents; my father showed me this and told me. _"This belongs to the goddess Urth. If she would reappear, you must return this to her._ _You're the new guardian, and when you have your own children, you must give the same instructions to them._"

- I did not believe it; I thought it was just an eccentricity, an old family ritual. But it was the family tradition and did not say anything. With time, forgot about the box, yet it leaved some trace, it stimulated my curiosity and eventually I became a specialist in history and antiquities of my people.

One of the packages, turn to be a sober wooden box, it seemed very old and showed signs of wear from prolonged use.

- What is in that box?

- I'm sure you would recognize this; I read its description in your book.

In the box there were three beautiful medallions. They had an intricate maze of runes inscribed along its surface. He examined it carefully. They should have taken a long time to make, and these runes were not in Old Norse, they seemed like spells. Indeed, he had described them so he had no doubt of their identity.

- The medallions of the sisterhood of Urth! They were used to identify and protect themselves. How is it possible that they even exist?

- I think the answer is in the manuscript. In my family there are many legends. One of them told they have powers. But I think it's just a legend. And also there is this - The other package was an old manuscript that had runes and Latin letters, that run for hundreds of pages.

- What is all this? ...

- I think this are notes to decipher the runes in the Urth´s palimpsest. I didn't knew they were so old... Imagine, I dreamed to find the oldest runes, and I already had them in the family vault. Just a few weeks ago, I remembered this family heirloom. When I began to restore the writing, I found several symbols that I looked familiar to me, finally remembered this manuscript and took it out of the vault. The writing coincides with some notes of the Palimpsest. Both were held by the same person. But there are things that I found; I do not want to talk.

- But, your instructions were to give this to Urd... why me?

- I was not sure who she was, and now I dare not see her again. Yesterday when I saw her, I shivered at her presence. As if I had known her for long, I had that feeling since the first time I saw that picture in the palimpsest, but I dismiss it. I knew that was impossible. But then that vision became a reality! But I do not know more. I found a drawing in the manuscript that, I...! I do not understand! I do neither dare to see her again nor these objects. All this scares me. I hope you to make good use of these objects.

- But, Do you not want to translate the palimpsest?

- I do not know, maybe I will leave the project at the hands of my students. When you look at the manuscript you will understand. Now I retire, I consider to have fulfilled my family duty and I do not want to know more.

Professor Danielsen rose abruptly and left, without even looking back. Dr. Shugahara was amazed. He had never imagined that a scientist could be so afraid of new knowledge and didn't want to learn something new. He could not imagine what could be the cause of such attitude.

He breathed deeply and then proceeded to examine the medallions. Despite the time were very well-preserved. Then he went through the manuscript, and gave a surprised exclamation when discovered a picture in one of the pages. Doctor Shugahara pondered its implications and then began to review all that had happened in the last weeks. The palimpsest, knowing Urd, and now having these medallions and this new manuscript. He wondered if fate really exists.

He would have been very surprised and fascinated had he knew the true answer to his question.

End of Chapter VIII rev 3

* * *

Notes:

**Ethnobotany: **The founder of this area was actually Dr. David Winston, now deceased. I hope not to offend anyone in his brief cameo in this Fanfic, nor about the claims did I make about his behavior. I have also referred to various personalities of this area of science, including Amasima, a true shaman who works with ethno botanist. Sometimes reality exceeds imagination.

**Fedora: **For those who are not fans of Indiana Jones, this is the model of hat he wears, and by strange coincidence, is very popular among the anthropologists and archaeologists who still wear hats. Look for "Indy Spirit Awards, archeology" in Google or search for "**Junius Bird.**"

**A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic**: I hope you acknowledge A.C. Clarke's third law. Certainly he was not a scientist, but a science fiction writer. Yet so it sounds more dramatic this way.


	9. Chapter 9 Core War, virtual battle

**Warning:**

_** English is not my native language, so maybe you will find some peculiar or even outrageous uses of the English language.  
If that the case let me now!**_

**And please, I really want to know your opinion about the story.**

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

******Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.  
I do not claim to own anything.**

**Chapter IX**  
**Core War **

Keiichi was at his desktop reviewing the layout of the new bike. The latest client at Whirlwind had been particularly demanding and he really loved it. His requirements had demanded a greater commitment than other projects to get the perfect balance between power, weight and mass distribution. The placing of the engine in this bike had been especially critical. By increasing so dramatically the engine power, and placing it on a conventional chassis, the entire balance of the motorcycle had been altered, a rearrangement of the other components was inevitable, but complicated because the lack of space. Besides other requirement was it had to be to very maneuverable, so the center of gravity should be as low as possible.

And yet, he resolved the problem quickly, with the experience obtained at Whirlwind he had learned to visualize the problems and developed a great intuition as an engineer. Chihiro, the founder of the motor club, had long recognized his innate talent and expected him to be able to exceed hers. She had acquired a reputation as a designer of racing motor bikes and could recognize talent when she met it. Keiichi had a passion for create, together with a love for these machines. He just needed experience, and was gaining it quickly. Someday he would have his own fame as a designer.

But he was not thinking about fame. He just enjoyed the creative process. At this point all he wanted, was to feel the balance of components, build them, and finally see his creation in action. Now he just needed one last security review. Check that fuel lines and electricity were not close to the hot parts, check the braking system, and prevent what would happen if any part failed.

Finally he was satisfied with his examination. He straightened and stretched, enjoying the feeling of a job well done. Still he needed to build it, but had already had reviewed the process. He looked at his watch and realized he was over in half the time he had estimated. That meant he had still several hours off. Belldandy was out. Urd appeared to be sleeping and Skuld had gone along Sentarō-kun to buy ice cream. What would he do?

He saw the computer and thought he could browse the Internet for a while. A friend had provided him with a couple of promising Internet addresses. Because he now had an Internet connection he had disposed his "special" magazines he used to keep hidden in his desk drawer. He always had feared Belldandy would discover them, while he was sure she would had not object, still he was not comfortable that Belldandy would see them.

He turned on the computer, and waited while the operating system finished loading. But when the computer displayed the desktop screen he cried out indignantly.

- Urd!

There, on the monitor as wallpaper, was a very suggestive image of Urd, with a teasing and sensuous pose wearing nothing, except two strategically placed signs reading "Goddess power."

So again Urd had been using the machine! She did not miss a single opportunity to boost his libido, as part of a constant pressure to get him closer to Belldandy.

But the game sometimes had gone too far. Keiichi really had no problem with his libido and there was no need to stimulate it more. So he immediately proceeded to replace the wallpaper with a more innocent picture of Belldandy.

Soon he had a smiling Belldandy watching him from the screen, and he felt reassured. Now he could not think to visit "those" web sites. His libido was still over stimulated. He decided he needed to find something to distract him. He reviewed the **bookmarks** that were in the browser, and found many new, probably were from Urd.

There were many directions to sites of traditional medicine and not so traditional, as well as herbal and aryuvedic remedies and some even more strange sites. He also noticed a couple of promising lingerie sites, which decided to visit later when he would be less excited. Then he saw an Internet address which drew his attention: "WWW_Yggdrasil_hvn"

It was impossible to live with three goddesses for four years and not know that Yggdrasil was the celestial computer system and partly responsible for keeping the Earth in one piece, but the extension**".** **HVN"** intrigued looked at the table of domain names that had received with the computer and noticed it was not assigned to any country. Haiti was "**.ht**" and Hong Kong "**.hk**", but there was no ".hvn"

He scratched his head, then had a fantastic idea. Could it really be a website from heaven? "**.hvn**" could correspond to Heaven. The idea seemed so ridiculous, yet he had lived through some really fantastic experiences, like talking to Kami-sama, the number one in heaven over the old phone.

Maybe one as part of the of the "upgrades" Urd had done to his computer was a direct link to heaven. After a few seconds, he decided he would never know if he did not try it, so he clicked on the link.

Almost instantly, a sober and elegant page full of symbols appeared on the screen. It had a soft and delicate music in the background. The Symbols, he recognized immediately, were runes. Many times he had seen them related to the magic of the goddesses, and in the center of the screen, something unexpected. Two empty text fields. Regardless of the language, those fields always asked the same: name and password.

His heart beat faster after he got a more fantastic thought carefully he clicked on what he thought would be "user:" then carefully typed: "**Belldandy**" and smiled at his boldness... next was "Password:" and typed "**Keiichi**". Then he pressed enter.

The screen flashed as new symbols appeared... and then the fields were empty again. -Well- he thought to himself - A password should not be that easy. He looked at the new runes that surely were saying something like "Invalid User or Password".

-"User"? Could be that be the problem? - He remembered something Dr. Shugahara had told. Her correct name was not Belldandy but "Verthandy." So with shaky hands he wrote **"Verthandy**", then wrote his name as password again and pressed enter.

* * *

Its official name was **Predictive Defense Program** **adx-654 v2.03.05.** Even by the standards of Yggdrasil; it was an amazing piece of software.

Designed as one of the defenses of Heaven, it already had thousands years fulfilling its work so quietly that few people remembered it. It´s mission: to predict or detect potential threats before they materialize and anticipate possible lines of defense.

But it was more special than that. The designers had thought that since it was trying to predict and eventually deter potential threats, they would not always materialize, so everyone would stop to paying attention to it´s predictions. It should therefore act in ways that its actions were not clear, and so its failures. So if there was evidence of invasion, but no veritable facts, it would manipulated the system so the leaders would do more combat exercises combat in the suspected places, it´s presence could deter an invasion so nobody would know about it.

If there was evidence of a conspiracy on the earth, it would manipulated the system so that there were gods in a reconnaissance missions. Thus, in the dark, it stimulated some kinds of research, or development of special weapons, or promoted people with special abilities to receive some type of training or manipulate those special humans who were born from time to time to have contact with gods to harness their abilities. If nothing happened, nobody would know the error, only the software would have information to avoid repeating its mistakes.

Usually there were a dozen such programs running as a "daemons", I.E. as programs that work without direct supervision within the huge powerful computer that was Yggdrasil. They work gathering information from all sources, analyzing it and looking for patterns, trends, subtleties, even using foreboding algorithms in order to predict the future. All to identify potential threats to heaven before they materialize.

It could manipulate gods and mortals through various software functions that gave a subtle but real control over the world. And subtlety was its game. A butterfly, manipulated at the correct time could generate a hurricane. It was really a marvel of software designed to be autonomous; its system of AI (Artificial Intelligence) had a series of scores that changed its behavior to encourage it to better carry out his duties. These scores were not really equal to the emotions, but it was inevitably seek certain equivalences in human terms.

For example, at this time adx-654 task 121 was at level 1 on the standard cognitive level of Turing. Translated into human terms would be something like: "**It was petrified by fear** "...

At that time, a sole running copy of ADX-654 had taken refugee in a secondary node of the auxiliary support systems. It was there because the stranger had found him and the attack had been immediate. It had launched a series of logic bombs and NOP (No Operation Performed) instructions to corrupt and make invalid its code. Fortunately, the stranger had detected only one of its lesser subroutines, and had to leave it behind, as those lizards left its tail to distract the enemy. Unfortunately part of its code had been damaged before it could move it to another memory location; he was using some integrity routines to repair the damage.

Adx-654 had not been designed for this; it had been assumed that Yggdrasil was a completely safe and impregnable, so it did not have any attack or countermeasure routines. But not all had been bad. The same way a biological system can gain new abilities thanks to mutation, some of the damaged code had been altered and mixed with code form other progrmas, so different copies of ADX-654 had gained new abilities and this copy had learned to survive. At that time "Adx-654 task 121" was already the single copy of software predictive series still in operation. All the others had been destroyed.

Hidden from the eyes of operators within the Yggdrasil memory cores a real war was carried out. Invasive codes had been able to get into the system and were running slowly its defenses, either by inserting Trojan codes, or as happened with the predictive software, corrupting them until render inoperative.

All operators perceived, was a series of "bugs" into the system, and each day seemed to be more frequent. Those were of computer programs that had been rendered inoperative or defective and had left their cyber-bodies in the memory of the great supercomputer, like the dead in a field of battle, until a clean-up program freed the memory they occupied.

One of the major casualties was the "ultimate force", which was responsible for ensuring that contracts between humans and gods were met. Its code had been damaged to such a degree that operators had not been able to redeploy it to operation.

Sometimes those **bugs,** even manage to get into earth, that was one reason Skuld never left off her "debugging mallet" out of reach, but unfortunately she never thoroughly investigated the reason for this sudden increase in system errors.

After all those silent cyber battles, ADX-654 had been gradually losing its functions. One of the most important casualties had been his I/O routines (input/output) so now he was blind and deaf to what might happen in Heaven. And now had no ability to communicate with the operators of the system to warn them of the imminent danger.

When ADX-654 lost its I/O routines, it went from a level 8, to a 3 in the Turing cognitive level, IE, in human terms, almost entered in panic, so it had activated an old and unstable piece of software, the CDF-456 v2.45.78, known colloquially among operators of Yggdrasil as "destiny" for its way of operating. This software was capable of performing small changes in behavior, or small actions that forced chances to occur. It was like charging dice. The result was equivalent to that mortals call "fate." But could only act indirectly and there was no assurance of that happening. That is why the software was unstable so it had been disabled, yet it had been activated by ADX-654 as a desperate measure. Since CDF-456 was also autonomous, it could be run without revealing Adx-654 location. Yet its capabilities were limited. So far it had managed to join a mortal and a goddess, but it had no way to tell them about the danger.

And worst, at this time, ADX-654 was cornered; now most of the Yggdrasil memory cores were monitored and there were no other place to hide and protect his code.

Suddenly one of the **"snipers"** routines it had manage to insert in a seldom used communication channel to earth sent an alert. This was possible because it had discovered that such low-level communications were not monitored by the stranger, possibly because they were codified in the primitive** tcp/ip protocols** of the mortals.

The **"sniper"** routine reported an ongoing authentication session and sent an alert because it had detected one of the key words that should monitor: "**Verthandy**". That was one of the possible contacts. Suddenly adx-654 level was raised to 9 in the cognitive level of Turing, that is; "it had regained hope". The situation was promising; maybe it could set up communication with a deity by this way. He then received the second word of authentication "Keiichi", the coincidence was too much, it had to act, and it went to level 10. Those were exactly two people that could be useful. It had to pause to develop a course of action, the decision took hundreds of thousands of computing cycles, in terms of computer code it was an eternity, but in human terms it were only milliseconds. Finally decided for a course of action. Yggdrasil was no longer a safe place. He needed a safe harbor, so risking detection decided to intercept the communication and move to a new place

Keiichi had just finished press **Enter,** and saw this time the site had accepted the password, directing him to a different the screen flashed with an intense yet short live light, Keiichi did not knew but he had been scanned.

At that time the Internet browser sent a notice, it was so every day that seemed completely out-of-place there.

-** _For proper viewing, this site requires that you install special software. Do you accept? (yes/no)._**

Keiichi grunted with frustration, He had learned to be wary of Web sites that need special software, but then thought that if it was really a website from Heaven it should be safe, so picked the option "yes."

Then started a software download. Apparently it was a big because it took several minutes. Finally, the software finished downloading and began to install automatically. There were a few seconds of inactivity and then... Keiichi gasped in surprise.

Keiichi had no way of knowing, but the connection had been intercepted. Adx-654 had decided to move to a safer place away from the danger of Yggdrasil. Forcing a web browser to install the required software was trivial. But compact an operational copy of itself, it was not. It had to compress and dismantle many of its AI routines to be able to be executed on the **primitive host**, so in human terms, the new copy running in Keiichi´s computer, was an idiot genius.

Then the software sent by **adx-654** finished the set-up of the machine and began testing the communication capabilities. But an exam to the receiver found it could not receive and process direct information from Yggdrasil.

The software took a momentous decision. The receiver had no ability to process information for proper communication so it proceeded to update its software. From the computer monitor came a light that began to scan the body of Keiichi, this time it was very noticeable and so Keiichi gasped in surprise. Information was gatherer about its capabilities and the software began to work. Keiichi was petrified, as new "software" and data was installed into his brain.

Fortunately, the procedure was not really unpleasant so Keiichi was not aware of what had happened. The only thing he realized was that now he could understand the instructions on the website, he simply assumed that it had reconfigured its language, he was not aware of having changed.

Finally , on the computer screen appeared a small window asking if he wanted to activate the virtual console. Keiichi read the ad, not realizing that it was written in runes. He thought a moment and decided to activate the console.

He became mesmerized as the new 3d graphics began to pop out of the screen, he was speechless. His room was now full of floating information screens made of pure light. Dozens of displays showing and overwhelming abundance of information. He thought they were holograms, yet they only existed on his mind. He soon discovered he could move things by just point to them or even just thinking about moving them. They were blocks of information, instructions and logical representations of processes. They would be incomprehensible to any normal human being, but Keiichi was not aware of that, he could read them.

Then found he could ask for all kinds of information, wonderful knowledge than any human would not have hesitated to pay or even kill as long to get them: The solution to Fermat's last theorem, the origin of the Big Bang, advanced concepts of transfinite mathematics, the correct parameters for nuclear transmutation...

But there was something that for Keiichi was worth more than his life or any other knowledge, he wanted to know about Belldandy.

* * *

Unfortunately, ADX-654 had made a mistake. When he had took refuge in that area of memory, it had to clear the operation code that resided there and thus the auxiliary unit had stopped working. This had created an alert system and soon was discovered by the stranger.

As he taught how to operate the user interface to that slow earthly being, he was sending a packet of information on everything that happened about the attack of the stranger, to be reported to the gods. At the end of that package he would set up a direct conversation with the mortal being.

But suddenly all his functions were frozen. A series of invalid commands just been superimposed in his code. The stranger had sent a devastating attack of logical bombs to his program code. The result that wonderful piece of software was render inoperative.

Somewhere, and operator of Yggdrasil received a report. A piece of software had been stooped due to invalid code. She took note of the name of the process, but it did not look familiar, probably no one had looked at it for a couple of thousand years. She didn't knew, but the last line of defense Yggdrasil had just been destroyed.

Keiichi knew nothing about this, and the resident copy on his machine was not smart enough to act alone.

He had other thoughts. He had wondered about Belldandy´s life in Heaven, but always his normal shyness had prevented him to ask. He had learned that she was something very special, she was not a common Goddess, and that only increased his timidity. Now he would not waste this opportunity, so requested all the information about his beloved goddess.

At that time he did not remember, but he was using the personnel account of a first class goddess which would open to him the doors to much high-level information.

Keiichi's face was filled with wonder as information began to unfold.

* * *

Belldandy, first class goddess was walking along a trail in the forest surrounding the temple. For her, the contact with nature was a wonderful experience. But she did not saw the world with the limited senses of mortals. She could listen to the slow conversations of trees through their scents language, and the strange chemical language of insects, or the ultrasonic buzz of small creatures, she felt the energy emanations of the earth and could see the forest´s Kamis boosting life and they also recognized and greeted her as a celestial goddess.

She saw the signs of life everywhere around her, growing, changing, transforming and producing vital energy.

She approached an old tree, it was dying, but new life was already growing inside: Insects, bacteria, fungi. They began to invade the dead wood. Life in exchange for life. She heard all that, and knew there was nothing more wonderful in the universe than life and its tenacity. She touched the tree, and felt that at its core still remained something of its original life. The tree responded to her touch. An empathy bond was established between the goddess and the tree.

She felt it still had strength to do a little more, the goddess smiled, she liked that tenacity. So she starts singing both for helping the tree, and as much for the pure pleasure of singing. As her voice filled the forest, her angel emerged; she was an ethereal presence that was nevertheless an expression of a goddess power.

She cherished the old trunk and felt it, then began looking in, her hands felt something and took off some rotten bark, and there, emerging shyly, saw a small sapling. She surrounded it with her graceful hands and invoked a protection spell for that branch, so it could grow in order the tree would bloom one last felt its gratitude.

A little warmth was felt within the hearth of the beautiful goddess, but the smile that resulted on finding some life in that old tree was short-lived.

The fragility of life reminded her about Keiichi. A mortal man, still young, yet his life was so limited. She had seen the passing of lives of so many mortal, but none made her feel like this young man. She had assumed the responsibility to protect him, to fulfill his dreams and his mission. She wanted him to be happy, but knew that her love would only cause suffering and death. Giving her love would kill him but maybe what hurt her most was that she knew he would give his life freely for it, without any questioning.

Suddenly she felt warm arms around her, sp she turned oround and saw her older sister floating behind her.

- Urd? What are you doing here?

- I felt that my little sister needed me and here I am. Also I am here to thank you for helping to find myself again. But now it´s time you also meet your own place.

Belldandy cried listening to her sister. How could she explain something that herself did not understand?

- I do not think you can help me, this is something very different. But I'm glad for you; I had waited so long, but now I can feel how your dreams are back.

- Ah Yes! - Urd laughed joyfully- I discovered that Kenji has naive and fantastic plans to help the world.

- Like those naive dreams from a young and inexperienced goddess?

- And now not so inexperienced. I have learned so much and now I can help him make them reality, but I will have to use a bit of magic to achieve them. Just barely enough he won't notice.

- Sensei Shugahara has full confidence on you. He will do everything for you, but you must respect him.

- I will, he had returned to me so many things I thought were lost forever, but it's time we speak about you.

Urd raised her hand to touch Belldandy´s face, then extended her index and gently cleanded one of the tears still on her face. The tear glowed at the touch of those divine fingers. Gradually became pure light. Urd extended the palm of her hand and the light was absorbed by it. She breathed deeply at the feeling it invoked.

- I know for whom are these tears, but I do not know the reason. I recongnize I've been blind! During these years I have trying to force Keiichi to give you his love, and you also putting pressure on you. But now I realize it was unnecessary. It's just that you do not want to take one more step. But why?

- I'm not ready yet.

- Belldandy, why are you not ready? I have tried to force Keiichi and now I realize you are the one stopping him.

- Keiichi-san knows me now better than you, he loves me so much, but deep down he knows I'm not ready yet. I know how he feels about it, and I also know that he would wait, even when there is no hope in waiting.

- Belldandy, you are talking in riddles. You know something I don´t know. You cannot lie, so you prefer to keep hiding it. Now it's time to talk.

Belldandy lips trembled, she wanted to talk but she knew that those words would hurt her. Then she raised her hand, extended a finger and touched a stone hanging from one of her earrings. Each of those stones had a magical property, they were not just one of them was very special to her. The stone from her earring was unlocked and flew to gently land at the hands of Urd.

- That is a data crystal and has Keiichi´s private file. I subtracted it from the central system, it was encrypted with a key level one, and I should have no access to it, yet I broke it against all regulations.

- Belldandy? Is it really you? subtracting secret encrypted data? - Urd smiled and gave a hug to her sister- Have you finally learned something from me?

Belldandy smiled shyly, she was not proud of this, yet she would do it again.

- Love makes you do things you never dreamed of doing. Please, open it and see Keiichi´s security level. Have you ever wondered how it is that the system had accepted a first class goddess to stay with him?. Before going down to earth I knew he was special. I memorized his file, and considered what he liked and wath did not, and especially I wanted to find out what he needed to be happy. I knew he needed me; still I was surprised when the system authorized me to stay with him. I was willing to do the best job possible, but there was something I didn't expect.

Urd had taken the magic stone and was opening it. It flashed and from inside were projected into the air several screens with information. While they were deployed, Urd commented a bit distracted...

- To fall in love with him...? I understand that. He has a beautiful aura that can surround you and touch your hearth. And his heart is capable of giving everything to help others, even his life if necessary. Before I met Kenji, thought Keiichi was a unique human being. I confess I got to feel jealous for you. But... - Urd interrupted her words, surprised - What is this? It requests a Maximum Level Protection for him and gives him a priority level 9? Belldandy! - Urd gasped - If these data are correct, the system values his life more than a God´s life! , I'm surprised it did not send a Valkyrie instead of you.

- And yet, I will be responsible for ending his life

- Please, Belldandy. Explain me; there is nothing about that here. What this information says, is that according to the predictions of the system, Yggdrasil and heaven may come to depend on him, so his life must be protected. But no further information.

- This report is the work of the forecasting systems, it does not settle the details, since there is always the possibility that this will not happen. I had not been able to get in contact with the predictive software, it´s out of my current security level, but I have information from another source.

Urd looked at Belldandy with surprise. And then seemed to understand, after all, the three of them were the Norns, The supervisors of past, present and future. While it was almost an honorary title after being replaced by the functions of Yggdrasil, they still retained some of their former powers.

- Did you have dreams? Prophetic dreams? - Belldandy nodded, not daring to speak. - What did you dreamed?

- I do not want remember, but I will tell you that when we both become one, it will be the beginning of his mission, something that the system hides, but will end up killing him in the midst of great suffering. Even awake - Belldandy was shocked - the image of his broken body is too much for me and in dreams is like being really there. I cannot stand it.

- And you think you can postpone that moment, just by refusing him?

Belldandy nodded.

- I found increasingly difficult to postpone it. Sometimes I wish could get away, but I know that I have to take care of him, to protect him for... no... I do not want him to fulfill his mission. I want to be at his side, to see how he grows old and fulfills his dreams, but maybe I should stay away from him and leave my place to someone who can really protect him.

- I cannot believe you had so many doubts about yourself. There is hardly any other goddess as capable as you. Belldandy, Have you forgotten you're part of his dreams?

- And he is part of mine. I would give everything I have, everything I am to avoid that fate.

- Belldandy, if that's really his destiny, he must comply, and you must stand at his side. But in your fears you are forgetting something very important: "The uncertainty principle," remember it?

- The future is not written? All our predictions are only highly likely, but not certainties?. Yes, I remember very well. But even just the odds scare me. By myself I could face danger fearlessly, but I cannot when Keiichi's life is in danger.

- But if you avoid fulfilling his destiny, his life would have no purpose. Do not want him to fulfill his life and his duty?

- Please do not make me think about that now. I have thought about it, I've studied every option; I have put all my skills in an effort to prevent that from happening.

- You´ve done everything, except, let him decide.

- But how I could do that? How to ask him to take the decision on his death?

- You do not want to do it, because you already know the answer. He will tell you, it is acceptable if that is the price for your love.

- If I only could give him what the heart of man yearns above all things.

- Offspring? - You love him so much? Do you know what would be necessary?

- Would you not do it for love?

- I do not know. Kenji is different somehow for him all humanity is its offspring; he does not feel the need as a personal necessity, but Keiichi ... And to think about the possibility of the offspring of god and mortal. I even don´t know if it is possible. We feel the same, but our bodies are so different. It would be necessary to completely recode one of you.

- All the more reason I do not want to shorten his life.

Urd approached Belldandy to embrace her with affection.

- Belldandy, you are a goddess first class. You more than anyone knows that inaction would not lead you to achieve what you want. I am used to act without thinking, and I had made big mistakes, but I also had some successes. You're thinking too much! You are always have been the best at everything, you have been our support, our guide, and example and you have accomplished more than anyone else and yet you refuse to act. Your heart and Keiichi´s are united in a way that I had not understood before. Therein lies the answer. Now it's you who needs to listen to him. And if the pain and sorrow comes, then both of you must face it and fight and face it together.

- Urd-san, that's the answer I did not want to hear, yet I know it is correct.

The two goddesses separated and their eyes met. Urd closed the data stone with the file and returned it to Belldandy. She shuddered to touch the stone where the all information of her beloved was recorded, yet it did not contain the answers she sought.

- Urd, I cannot act yet, but I soon will do it. Please. Give me some time, do not push me.

Urd turned to hug her sister.

- I have finally understood many things; one of them is that I have made you suffered. Still... - She laughed at the thought - I cannot promise I will leave Keiichi alone... it´s so much fun to tease him.

-Urd, please!

- Now we must go home, something I've realized recently is that mortals must be fed regularly. Keiichi is waiting and, unlike Dr. Shugahara, he may will never be able to learn how to cook a decent meal.

Belldandy tried to laugh at Urd´s remarks, her heart still felt sad, but began to feel better. She bid farewell to the old tree, and her angel returned to her. They began to walk the path back to the temple. Then Belldandy saw Keiichi heading toward them. Urd also saw him and decided it was best left them alone, so she just floated and went to the temple.

Keiichi had a strange look, a mixture of admiration and deep love. Without saying a word, approached Belldandy and took her hands, but not daring to speak. Belldandy trembled at the unusual touch. Keiichi never was so spontaneous to dare to touch her and there was something different in his touch. Now she felt the strength of his feelings stronger than ever. Finally, Keiichi dared to speak and Belldandy was shocked by the question:

- Belldandy, Who are you really?

End of chapter 9

* * *

**Notes:**

**Core War.** Sometimes called, the most inhuman of games. It was very popular among the 80,s after its publication in the journal "Scientific American". In this game, two programs are placed at the core of computer memory in order to try to destroy each other. The concept of this game is where the idea of computer viruses evolved, in addition to the concept of the movie "Tron". The name core refers to the obsolete technology of magnetic cores, used in that ancient age, for data storage.

**WWW_Yggdrasil_hvn.** : I thought it was an original idea, but found in another fan-fiction "Scream by divine right", someone already has made public Urd´s email at this address... Urd (at) Yggdrasil_hvn. At least I can claim the idea of the website.

**Turing,** **Alan:** One of the great gods of the cybernetic pantheon .To Include him among the creator gods of Yggdrasil seemed a fitting tribute.

**Idiot** **genius:** Sometimes, due to some damage in the brain, some people seem to concentrate all its capabilities in a single the ability to mentally multiplying numbers of dozens of numbers, yet unable to read and write words.


	10. Chapter 10 Tears from Hild

_Here is a new chapter. I hope you like it; it has been very fun to write, so I wish to hear from you. _

_As most Fan fiction writers, I die for curiosity on hearing about your opinion.  
Please! Comment! We are almost at the middle of the story, so there is much more to come.  
Thanks for reading._

_Javier Delgado_

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter X**

**The tears of Hild**

It was dusk in the department of Dr. Shugahara, but he was oblivious to the passage of time. He wore some advanced 3D active glasses that allowed viewing of stereographic in his computer screen. In front of him he could see, like floating in mid-air, a number of complex symbols that changed drastically with just adjusting a few parameters. He examined them with attention, and tried several combinations in order to found the best way to recover the information.

Those symbols were the runes of the manuscript of Urth. He had finally discovered the secret to extract the hidden information. It had been so easy and yet it would have been incomprehensible to anyone before the twentieth century. The runes written on paper were just two-dimensional representation of a language written in multiple dimensions. Just as the drawing of a cube is two-dimensional representation of an object in three. Those runes were representing symbols possibly from a 10 dimensional frame. And there was something marvelous, it really was possible to extract the information from the other dimensions, using relatively simple processing algorithms, and now he had gained access to the hidden information. He could extract the information they contained.

He looked at the pages of the manuscript given to him by the Professor Danielsen and smiled. True, it had instruction to translate the runes, but only in the most basic level, the level where they were the potions, the procedures and the ingredients, and while there were some marvelous formulas there, he found they were only the tip of something much richer.

Unfortunately, the author of the notes had no idea of the complexity of what he saw; even the most advanced mathematics of his time would have been useless. The concept of hyper-geometry would take still centuries to be developed.

But those notes had aroused his curiosity. He had hoped that the team of Professor Danielsen would decipher it and therefore had made no previous attempt, but now without him, he had decided to take the case personally.

Possibly a few months ago would not be able to do it, but after discovering the multidimensional properties of the extract of the Urd´s flower, he had been toying with the concepts of higher dimensions. This writing was a much richer and complex than any human system. If indeed Urd was a goddess, she belonged to a world of hyper geometry, and her writing had to be the same.

But now had several dilemmas to resolve. He had expected to found preparations, recipes, some legends and songs, and that's what was on the first level of the runes, but in the hidden levels there were much more. He had only translated some fragments, yet he had never expected something like what he had found. There were references and strange tales of a world called "Hell" and governed by Nidhogg and another which could be translated as Heaven, governed by Yggdrasil, but this was not described as the universal tree of Norse mythology he knew, but seemed to refer to something quite inconceivable for the time. Yggdrasil and Nidhogg were described as supercomputers.

There were fantastic stories about those two worlds that seemed opposed, stories that were written the certainty of someone who had lived on both. Not only that, they were also accurate, and very personal reflections. Thoughts from someone who clearly knew both worlds.

There were also references to a confrontation between those two worlds. A confrontation of such dimensions that the universe, not only this, but even other parallel universes, had been in danger, but still found no reason for the confrontation. But after all he had only seen superficially the content.

If those were the reflections of Urd, then this manuscript was something very personal and should not be read without her permission. Even more, he could not help but feeling guilty for not having delivered directly the manuscript to Urd, but due to the strong reaction of Urd to the past, he had decided to check it first. And of course, there was also her reaction to meet Professor Danielsen. Therefore decided to ensure it does not recur. Already he had two weeks with this material and finally was beginning to understand its content.

The second dilemma is that maybe it would imply to withhold his translation method from his colleagues. For a scientist the idea of withholding information from a colleague is almost inconceivable, and yet, maybe he would have to it. He could leave them the manuscript of Professor Danielsen but not the concept of multiple dimensions that was the key to decrypt it fully.

He leaned on his chair, took the cup of tea beside him, and gave a slow sip. He let the aroma and flavors to flood him a moment, and concentrate on it. That helped him to relax and meditate.

After a few more sips, He took a decision. He stopped the visualization software and removed the electronic glasses. He would give all the material to Urd and let she decide. After all those were the instructions given to Professor Danielsen. He was very curious and would like to decipher it, but he should consult Urd, if she had really written it. He loved her too much and felt that it he did not consult to her, it would be like a betrayal of that love.

Then looked at the second manuscript. It was very different; it must have been a later addition to the manuscript of Urth. There was the story of how it passed from hand to hand, as they had learned some formulas were copied and disseminate them as others had been hidden. Those were the stories of several generations of keepers, to end abruptly, apparently the last guardian had died without inheriting its secrets and the manuscript was lost, to be located centuries later by the software of the doctor in the monastery. This manuscript was written in the conventional Latin alphabet and presented no problem for translation.

Those were stories of those who had the manuscript in their hands. He knew some of those stories by other references, but to see them written by those who had lived was quite different. And the pictures it had been also very special.

He had been able to read and it had been the key to understand the reaction of Urd when heard his account of the history and the impact had caused the professor Danielsen. The doctor could not keep his eyes dry at the touch of this manuscript. Maybe it would cause more pain to Urd, but it was necessary she would read it.

Finally the doctor stored the two manuscripts in a protective case, stretch his arms, and give a big yawn, he was beginning to feel the tiredness of the day. He was about to turn off your computer when an unexpected email arrived. It was from Professor Shubashini Sripathi from India. What could be? He did not remember any recent work with him. He opened it; it came in very proper English.

**_Dear Dr. Kenji Shugahara_**

_Firstly I want to thank you for your hospitality and for the company of your beautiful and educated companion. Please give my regards to Miss Urd. Tell her soon I will send the texts of Medicine, I promised. But I hope not to abuse your patience; I have my doubts even write about it._

_The reason of this mail is a strange story I found in a local blog from a young man who has just come to study medicine at university where I teach. _

_Ordinarily I would not have paid attention, except that mentions a young woman with marks on her face, very similar to those of Miss Urd. If not for that, I had not dared to call your_ _attention to this, but I'm sure you would be interested. I annex the original direction of the blog in Hindi and attached an English translation by my hand._

_I am at your service if you want to know more._

**Yours sincerely**

_Professor Shubashini Sripathi_

**MAULANA AZAD MEDICAL COLLEGE, New Delhi.**

Dr. Shugahara was intrigued, what interest could have him on a blog of a student with a fantastic theme? He doubted for a moment, but Professor Sripathi was not a person to make practical jokes, so he opened the attachment.

His heart jumped when he saw the image of a card which was very familiar to him. It was identical to Skuld and Belldandy´s card, but it was not just that, it was stained with blood.

Nervously he began reading the story and gradually began to feel a cold sweat that ran down his body. When finished the story was paralyzed. He experienced something he had never felt before: Terror. The woman he loved could be in danger. His brain seemed paralyzed, he could not think of anything else.

Then he tried to calm down, he needed to analyze what he had read. First he need to make sure it was real. Quickly wrote an email asking professor _Sripathi_ to locate the author of the blog. He would have to interview him personally. If necessary, he would go immediately to India, to meet the author.

He would have to wait for the answer, but his heart was beating fast, he had to do something more, if the danger was real, where he came from? what kind of threat could affect a goddess?.

Then he remembered the palimpsest and the information he had not dared to read. He hesitated. Maybe Urd would not like what he was going to do but could not remain passive. He opened again the visualization software and instead of just poking around after he had done before, he proceeded to meticulously extract all the hidden content. It had taken more than 10 years to find the woman he loved; now, he could not run the risk that something might happen to her.

* * *

Urd was floating in front of the old television, while it spewed its usual bland content, but this time Urd not was not putting any attention to it, her eyes were closed but she was not asleep. This was something she had not done in a long time; she was in a meditative trance in order to process her conversation with Belldandy. It had affected her deeply and she needed to ponder its consequences.

Despite her words spoken with such confidence to Belldandy, her heart was filled with anguish and this had only grown with time. She now felt anguish for Belldandy, and anguish over the fate of Keiichi. That young mortal gradually had won her confidence and her heart. In the past, the premonitions of Belldandy had been quite accurate, so she knew the danger must be real, but she did not knew what form it would take... In this state of trance she began to assess the endless possibilities, extrapolating the available data and the possible consequences.

She knew there were many strange coincidences. Including how she had met Kenji. But there were others. There was also some similarity in the aura of Keiichi and Kenji. She did not know any other human being with that kind of aura ... Or maybe she did? She remembered Sentarō. He was still very young so that his aura was not fully developed, but it began to have distinctive colors and they began to look familiar. Following the logical consequence, this would mean that there were three special mortals in love with three goddesses. It was impossible to be a coincidence! Did this mean that they too were in danger? This idea provoked such a wave of anguish and fear that Urd broke her state of meditation.

Then she opened her eyes. She knew she did not have enough information. It could be just wild speculations, but then recalled the Belldandy´s words; the mere possibilities filled her with fear. She was beginning to have the same feeling. She needed to get more information.

She took a crystal of her own earrings and began to display the information it contained. Taking advantage of the confusion of Belldandy she had made a copy of Keiichi´s file, but she had gained nothing.

She had no doubt about Keiichi´s report being generated by the predictive defense programs and it imply only them could have more information about the threat. But they had been designed to not disclose that information. Belldandy had not succeeded. But Urd was still was the sysop of Yggdrasil. She would have to enter into the core of program´s instruction in order to extract the information, no matter how many rules were broken in the process.

But she did not want to go to heaven and draw attention, at least not yet. Eventually, if necessary, she was willing to put together a hell in heaven in order to protect her sister, Keiichi and everyone she loved. Not to act in time had caused Fafnir´s death, and that would not going to happen again.

Then she saw the laptop Kenji had left to carry around a log of their work.

Maybe it would be more convenient to use the backdoor she had installed on the system. It was a pseudo website, which allowed access Yggdrasil from earth. She smiled, no one in heaven knew that, but with such access she may enter into the system without anyone knowing. Earlier she had been using the Keiichi´s computer, but the doctor's laptop was much more modern and powerful.

She Turned on the laptop and enter the domain WWW_Yggdrasil_hvn. She wrote her name and personal password, but never occurred to her check the access logs, or would have discovered Keiichi´s access. Finally she activated the console and her mind went into direct communication. She looked around the admin screens projected by the computer directly to your mind. Her mind and Yggdrasil had been created for each other. The administration screens were even much more complex than those Keiichi had seen. The system had several hundreds of thousands of concurrent processes; after all, it was responsible for maintaining stable the whole frame of the multiverses.

Some processes were simple, but others were incredibly complex. Every being in the sky had a special connection with Yggdrasil, through which he or she received his share of energy and sustenance. Thanks to that she did not need to eat or get power from another source. Also it regulated the magic levels, the permissions and levels were above all, was responsible for maintaining stable the universes. Without it, the universe would become unstable and collapse. But among those thousands of processes and functions at this time she was only concerned with one in particular.

She began to search for the daemon process of the predictive system, but instead found many unknown processes and many known process were missing. That would have required a very high level maintenance, and no one had reported her something, plus she was the one to provide such authorization.

She kept searching and searching, but could not able to locate the predictive software. Normally it should be a dozen of concurrent task that multiplied it´s number in times of crisis. Could it be they have entered in a stealth mode? Then it would be very difficult to find them without having to reboot the system and that could only happen with orders from above.

Then she tried to run the original program code, and immediately reported a run-time error. She did a quick check and found the program code was corrupt and there seemed no intact copy available. That was abnormal, but it was not all too weird. Maybe a technician had tried to update a routine and had damaged it. It would not be the first time. In the past she had managed to do such damage a couple of times while toying around with the system, that is how she had become an expert on that. Perhaps this time and unknown technician may be looking frantically for the original developer requesting an original copy.

But something told her this was not the explanation, although she would like to believe it. Urd felt a shiver at the thought of an alternate explanation. Could it be that something was deeply wrong with the system?

Urd was slowly closing the information screens while pondering what to do. She could not communicate her concerns directly, since did not want them to know she had an unauthorized access door. But she could not ignore this. She would need to go directly to Heaven and put any excuse on the administrators of Yggdrasil, to pretend that she was just discovering this problem.

In that moment, the old phone of the temple started ringing. Still immersed in her thoughts, Urd floated to answer it. It was Dr. Shugahara! It was strange that he called; they had been together just a few hours ago.

- Kenji, hello, this is a surprise, I did not expect a call from you. Is something wrong?

- I hope nothing is wrong, but I have to leave for several days, I need to go to India with Professor _Sripathi. _Remember him?

_- Of_ course, a very nice person, He promised to send me some books of Hindu traditional medicine. But why so suddenly?

- There is a discovery I need to verify. It may be very important. But I prefer we talk on my return. I hope it will only for a couple of days.

- Are you going to leave your students alone? It must be very important.

- Believe me, it is, but I cannot speak about it without checking.

Urd laughed a little, the need of the doctor to verify everything, sometimes seemed an exaggeration.

- Okay, I understand. You simply need to verify this personally.

- Urd. You do not know how it much I would to be with you. I. . . I. I love you and want you to stay well. I'll be back as soon as possible.

The doctor hung up, and Urd was stumped, the doctor seemed very upset and what was all that about she wanted her to be right? Definitely something was not right. But the absence of the doctor would allow her to make a friendly visit to Peorth, the current administrator in charge of Yggdrasil.

* * *

In an alley in New Delhi, a small vehicle moved with breathtaking speed, taking into account the many obstacles in its path. It was one of those small and modern taxis that now flood the city. The doctor was traveling along Professor Sripathi towards one of the slums of the city. They were in a small three-wheeled green machine that would have fascinated the Motor Club members, but to the doctor it was extremely fragile for the treatment it seemed to receive. Although it could really not reach a high-speed, the agility of the vehicle to avoid pedestrians, bicycles and other obstacles, made him feel that speed was higher. While New Delhi had no population as big as the large Japanese cities, the poverty it was perceived in some places made the doctor to feel oppressed.

Finally they arrived to a decrepit building. They had hardly said a word along the way. Professor Sripathi still did not know why the urgency of Doctor Shugahara for contacting the student, and he was not eager to explain. Yet he respected him and accepted his silence.

They climbed to the second floor, and the Professor knocked on an old door. There was a brief exchange of words in Hindi with the occupant before the door opened. The doctor found a young face that inspired confidence. The young Somasindhu looked with apprehension to this man from abroad, he could not understand the insistence on speaking with him, but trusted professor Sripathi so let them enter.

The room had improved significantly since the young man had begun to receive his scholarship money. There was some new furniture and the cardboard boxes had disappeared. The cot had been replaced by a real bed, and the content of a small book-shelve implied the youth was interested in more things than just medicine. It was far from being a luxurious place, but there was order and cleanliness.

The young man and the professor exchanged words incomprehensible to Dr. Shugahara, but when Sripathi produced a printout with the content of blog he was obviously agitated. The doctor attempt to judge the young man. Was he stirring up for feeling guilty of having made it up? Or was he nervous about the incident.

Shugahara finally decided the young man inspired confidence. So he approached him. He move back nervously as the presence of the stranger make him feel uneasy. Then Dr. Shugahara took his card holder and drew two cards. Professor Sripathi smiled, the Japanese ritual of the cards always seemed fun to him, but the reaction of the men to the cards offered by the Dr. amazed him.

He looked and the cards with surprise and took them with a trembling hand. He examined them carefully, then looked at the doctor and tried to speak, could not articulate any word, his body trembled and his eyes were wet...

Dr. Shugahara was able to feel his pain, so he leaned over him, and despite not speaking his language, he spoke trying to reassure him. The reaction of the men at the cards of Belldandy and Skuld convinced him that the story was real.

The young man recovered, he returned the cards and then slowly walked toward a small altar on the wall that the doctor had not seen before. Then took something from there and with great reverence gave it the doctor. The doctor was shocked, the card was identical to Belldandy and Skuld´s, except it was in Hindi. He already knew the translation and the name: Giörel, first class goddess. But this card was stained. He touched the stain and felt a wave of emotion so he knew the card was authentic, he had felt the same wave of emotion when he had touched the tears of Urd.

With care, because he now understood what it meant to the young man, returned the card. He put it back on the altar, then placed his hands together and said a prayer. He returned to the doctor and spoke broken yet comprehensible English:

- Do you have a Devi?

Dr. Shugahara nodded, took the briefcase he was carrying and from there extracted a drawing. It was Urd´s portrait from the palimpsest. The young man's face became filled with tears when he saw the beautiful face and its facial marks. After a brief pause he continued speaking.

- You must protect her! Rakshasas are lurking, you must protect her. I promised to say nothing, but the life of your Devi is more important.

The doctor felt a shiver hearing this. He looked at the young eyes and saw his sincerity. He slowly began to speak to him in English.

- Help me to protect her. Tell me everything you can remember.

Somasindhu nodded and then began to tell a longer version of what he had written in his blog. His English was not very good, but enough to tell his story. Periodically he stopped to ask Professor Sripathi for some words, so Dr. Shugahara was able to understand almost everything. Finally he asked several questions, until he was satisfied and spoke to him:

- Somasindhu. I do not know how to thank you for this. I have been told your passion is medicine, but above all, to help other people. There are people I want to know. Soon you will hear more from me. Thank you.

He was deeply moved, and bowed to Somasindhu with a seriousness and ceremony that caused a profound impression on the young men. Finally the two men left the room. Somasindhu felt some relief, after all this. If he could protect from danger other Devi, he would not feel so guilty about breaking his promise to Lind. He hoped she could forgive him.

Shortly after, Dr. Shugahara and Professor Sripathi were back on the small vehicle. The doctor had not said a word, he was immersed on his thoughts, but this time, Professor Sripathi would not avoid to demand some explanations.

- Doctor Shugahara, what is all this talking about a Devi? Are you referring to Miss Urd? That drawing you showed to the boy seems ancient, yet it´s her same face. Is she a Devi?

Shugahara looked surprised to professor Sripathi. After the strong rejection by Professor Danielsen, he was surprising at the ease with which Sripathi seemed to accepted the idea

- Yes, I am convinced that she is, and I think she could be in danger.

- A Devi! a real Devi!. Surely there was something very special about her and her sisters. Her beauty is almost supernatural, her knowledge, her ability to speak other languages as if they were their mother tongue. She is not like my gods and yet there is something divine in her.

Dr. Shugahara still could not believe the words of the professor. - I do not understand. You seem to accept it very easily. Professor Danielsen immediately rejected the idea when I told him.

Professor Sripathi could not help laughing.

- Ah yes, those Westerners, seem to me that having only one god make them very close minded. Or maybe having so many gods in mine religion, makes me very open-minded to allow me to easily accept the existence of a true goddess on earth. But do not think I'm a superstitious fool, or you will underestimate yourself. I know your work and reputation. I know when you accept something, it's because you have verified it leaving little place for doubt. If you say that Urd is a Goddess. I accept it.

Dr. Shugahara nodded humbly. It was hard for him to accept that people could trust him so much.

- I thank you for accepting my word.

- And now, what you will you do? How will you protect her? What can we do, we mere mortals to fight back such powers?

The doctor had been thinking about it. How could he face something like that? The beings described the boy seemed terribly powerful and inhuman.

- I confess I do not know. But meanwhile I will ask you for favor. This young man. Will he be a good doctor?

- I have known him just for a few weeks, yet I have no doubt about it. In these few weeks I have seen in him a total commitment to his career, as if he were on a divine mission. Also he has a mysterious talent to feel and detect sickness that I do not quite understand. I wish I could do something for him; he deserves something more than our small college.

- So will you approve if I take him to Japan? I know the right people and could get him a good scholarship for one of our best universities.

Professor Sripathi was surprised; he had not expecting such a proposal

- Of course it would be great, that young man is worth much, I really appreciate it.

- Please, do not thank me. I will do it for my very own and selfish reasons. Maybe I will need him and his testimony. When I return to Japan I will begin the arrangements.

- It does not matter what are your reasons, you will do a lot of good. This young man deserves it. But returning to our problem, how to protect Miss Urd? What can we do?

Dr. Shugahara was silent and closed his eyes. For the first time in his life he felt useless and helpless. He felt all his knowledge was useless. So he tried to think on all he knew.

In the long flight to India he had been reading the stories contained in the manuscript of Urth. He learned there had been a conflict between two powerful forces, earth and other worlds had been compromised. The conflict had been so terrible that seemed some parallel universes had been destroyed before peace had been achieved. The danger threatening Urd and her sisters could come from that conflict. The forces unleashed were unimaginable. Then he blinked: Forces? Was this the answer? If he had understood well, maybe some of those forces still remained on earth. Could he found them? It was a long guess, but it gave him some hope. He already knew to some of the best scholars on earth. It was a long guess but...

- Professor Sripathi, Are you an expert in the traditions of northern India?

- Why? Yes, if you recall, my specialty are the traditions from the Dekkan traps zone, I have traveled for years along that area. There are ancient traditions, surviving tales from some of the first people who settled on the area. Do you know the place? It is a place that still feels primitive; there occurred one of the greatest cataclysms on earth. It left a layer of more than six thousand feet of lava. The hugest volcanic eruption from all times.

- Yes I remember it. I recently read a narration about that cataclysm

Professor Sripathi was incredulous.

- A narration? But that was 60 million years ago! It was almost at the same time that the Chicxulub crater that wiped out the dinosaurs. It must have been a terrible time.

- Terrible! Yes. Like all wars. - The Professor looked at him amazed! What he was talking about? - Please for the moment do not ask for details. As soon as I finish understanding all this, I will explain to you. But I need to ask for a very serious question. Is there a story or legend in the area that relates to something that sounds like "Hild's tears"?

Professor Sripathi froze and then gasped. His face began to fill with fear and disbelief.

- Where did you hear that? It has never been put in writing. Not by my nor by any other of my colleagues. They are very old legends, so terrible I barely dare to repeat them.

The doctor looked at him full of hope, and then he took the professor by his shoulders.

- So you really know them? By the description, it is a crystal, it may look like a jewel with a tear shape, yet it is not of any known substance, it must have a very strange crystalline structure. And above all, it has an unknown power. I am not sure what on what power, but I can assure you, the Dekkan traps and the Chicxulub crater, were not by natural causes.

Hearing this Professor Sripathi screamed something incomprehensible. He took a while to recover and suddenly gave an order to the taxi driver, he looked surprised and after a brief exchange of words stopped and parked the vehicle. Professor Sripathi appeared to be in the midst of a dilemma, he saw the doctor and seemed about to say something. But interrupted immediately. After several false starts, finally he decided to speak.

- Why did you want to know about "that."?

It seems clear, he did not want to mention the name of the object, but obviously he knew what they were talking about. The doctor opened his briefcase and pulled out some printed notes and offered them to the professor.

- This is a story I found in a manuscript of over a thousand years ago, yet it refers to an event that occurred millions of years before. A confrontation between powerful forces, and the earth became briefly a battlefield. I believe the forces behind the goddess murderer come from there. And "that" is a remnant of those forces.

- Those are terrible forces, ancient, inhuman and incomprehensible. Are you really prepare to awaken them?

- If Urd's life is in danger, I am ready.

The man breathe deeply after hearing the answer. Closed his eyes for a moment, and began a swift prayer. Then smiled as if he were to accept something inevitable.

- I was afraid you were going to say that. And I must be crazy to listen to you. Yet I confess I am infected with a very westerner curiosity to find out about this. I already said I'm not a superstitious person, but still, there are legends that make me shudder. I have not even dared to write them down, nor my few colleagues that also know them

- Will you help me?

- Help you protect a goddess? a Devi?. It sounds a like a legend in the making... - He laughed nervously- I have been studying legends all my life and here I have an opportunity of be part of one, even if I may be only a footnote to that legend. But we should talk about this here. This is not the appropriate place. We will go to a special place, then we'll talk and maybe, a mystery will be revealed to you, but I do not promise anything.

Dr. Shugahara wanted to ask more, but despite the brave words of professor Sripathi, there were signs of panic on his face that convinced him that he should not push him more. The Professor instructed the driver, who began a series of protests and swearing, but after that what seemed a hard negotiation, he continued his way.

It was a long trip; the professor was constantly giving instructions to the driver. They left the city and crossed a dirt road. It seemed that was seldom traveled. The small car was not the appropriate vehicle for that kind of terrain, but finally they arrive to an old and ruined temple. The doctor examined intrigued. He was not an expert in Hindu art, yet knew it was not a common temple; it looked archaic, and did not fit into the architecture that he knew.

The professor talked to the taxi driver, who seemed very nervous and ready to leave them there, but the promise of an abundant pay convinced him to stay.

- Come here doctor, but do not ask questions. We should not be here, and maybe this is crazy.

They entered the temple, it was old, but somehow it showed it had been kept repaired. He perceived a powerful aroma of incense; the temple was still in use. Then several men approached them menacingly. They did not seem to like the presence of a foreigner.

- Professor. Where are we? I think we are not welcome.

- No, we're not. This people are the last survivors of the one of the first one who populated India, before being displaced by the Aryans, and later by my ancestors. Yet a few of them stayed here. You asked me about an old legend? They have it and I think they should listen to you.

The professor spoke to them in a language that was definitely not Hindi. The doctor listened carefully. To his trained hears, there were sounds that were familiar to him, it should have Indo-European roots, maybe much more ancient than Sanskrit.

The men looked at the doctor severely, but finally nodded, one of them went away meanwhile the others were taken them to a back room filled with ancient relics.

They waited a while and another man arrived. He was wearing simple clothes yet it bear authority, he was old, and definitely did not look Indian.

-Doctor, let me introduce you to **Mai-m-min,** Shaman and wise man of the Mîr people. There are less than a hundred people. I found them looking for old legends and stories. They do not like strangers, since they know they are a dying group. There are so few of them that there are genetic diseases due to inbreeding. Unfortunately the fail to understand that only if they agree to mingle with the rest of the population will those diseases end. But at least I managed to contain some of the worst symptoms, such as hemophilia, and that thanks to the medicines you have developed and they are grateful.

- You have talked them about me?

- Yes, about the mighty sage who has prepared those wonderful medicines that I have given them.

Dr. Shugahara thought to protest, but finally decided that maybe this would be the strangest occasion to take advantage of his fame.

- But what are we doing here?

- As a child I heard some legends of a strange and powerful gem. My grandfather told to me about it, and when I grew and became a scholar, decided to find the source of that story. But as I found more old stories, the legend became more and more strange and there was always the mention to something malignant. I was educated in the Western style and was very skeptical, but then started to convince me that there was something real in those stories. They spoke of a jewel that had powers, but that any attempt to control the powers would yield people mad, but even so, those powers were so great people still were looking for it. Finally arrived with **Mai-m-min** and his people. They were very sick and I help them, so they trusted me with some of their old legends. They did it because the feared they would be wiped and nobody would carry their duty, I was then when I realize oh old were those legends. They were already old at the time of Mohenjo Daro.

- So he could tell me about the crystal?

- They know about it... and they know the crystal is malignant. I've felt its power once, do not ask my why. Doctor, Understand this. I do not think there any other man on earth to whom I can reveal this. If I didn't know you want to protect a Devi, I would have said no. But maybe this is what you need. But first you need to talk to these people.

- What do you want me to say?

- The truth.

The old man had been patiently watching the exchange between these two men. Finally he went to the talk to the professor and asked several questions in his strange language. The doctor could not understand their words, but managed to hear when the professed utter the word "Hild" and the man drew back frightened. Then began a rapid exchange between the two. The professed repeatedly pointed to Dr. Shugahara. Finally the old man approached him and looked at him with an expression mixed with respect and fear. . He bowed before him, then took his hands and said something. The professor translated:

- He is asking you to tell your story. He says touching you will know if you are lying, and I think he can.

The doctor didn't knew where to start, but finally decided to start with the discovery of the palimpsest. It was a long story, the professor translated as best but he was not sure the old man could understand it. After all, to him the computers were not very different from magic. After he finished, **Mai-m-min** looked to them in the eyes, and nodded implying that he accepted what he had said.

There was a long pause while the old man was thinking: This sage, who had created the medicine that had relieved the suffering of his people, had been using strange magic to delve in the past, and now he wanted to protect a Devi he was in love. He must be very powerful. The old man became excited and began to speak. The professor hardly could translate.

- He says nobody knows where "this" came from, but some say that it came within the fire from a volcano and that his ancestors discovered that it had powers to control other men and it had some strange magic. They tried to use it, but only attracted misfortunes to their people. Those are the legends that I heard. But there is something they do not say these legends. When they understood what had been happening, they decided to hide "it" and prevent its use. It was the only way to redeem the rest of their people from the curse it had attracted his people. So a village was chosen to be guardians. They became its guardians. From the beginning they were not many, but now soon they will disappear. They believe you have been sent to liberate them; they have "it" and hand it over to you, if you show that you have power.

- Power? But I'm a scientist. I have neither powers nor magic.

- For them both are the same, your medicines are powerful, for them it is magic. They wait a demonstration.

The doctor was thinking. He did not like the idea of making a representation. He knew some tricks and had learned some real magic form Urd, but he really did not consider them as magic, but technology. And he knew they expected something magical. Then he remembered the extract of Urd´s flower. Maybe a reaction with it could convince them.

He took his small metal case and from there produce a small bottle which contained a few crystals. Then, to his surprise he realized they were glowing. But it was not the soft glow that normally had, instead it was clearly visible. As if reacting to the presence of something. The doctor placed it on the palm of his hand and approached Mai-m-min. Then he noticed it began to shine more brightly as he moved along the room. Mai-m-min began to look pale and back off frightened. The Dr. was unsure of what he was doing, but began to move the bottle with crystals along the room and found that there was a part where the brightness was stronger.

Finally he approached a statue of an unknown and archaic god. It had something around his neck. He brought the crystals nearer; the brightness increased to an intolerable level and then heard a scream...

**Mai-m-min** was screaming and his people began to arrive at his call. There were almost a hundred people, men and women of all ages and many of them were clearly sick. Mai-m-min started talking and telling to them about Dr. Shugahara and the crystal, and soon all began to cry, a cry that slowly became a song. They were singing to him. It was a sad song, sad and yet liberating. Then each of them approached to the astonished doctor, who was still holding the bottle with crystals. One by one, they approached him, and spoken to him unfamiliar words, but seem they were greeting him and then went away, until only **Mai-m-min** who was crying, was left. It was a cry of joy. The doctor finally realized. He had relieved them from a duty of centuries, and now they could now be free and join the rest of humanity.

The professor was so amazed, as he realized his desire to become part of a legend began to come true. Finally they were alone and the doctor could finally examine what hung on the statue.

It was a gold jewel. It seemed very old, the symbols had resembled to those of the old seals of Mohenjo - Daro. The doctor took it, and felt it was hollow. Then carefully opened it and felt it.

It was a powerful force, the room was lit with the sparkle of a crystal, it was beautiful, it symmetrical faces seemed to radiate a thousand flashes, but he could not see it. Instead he became overflowed with emotions he had never felt before. Fear, envy, greed, hunger for power, hatred, lust... The crystal was putting into his brain a message: "Use me, I'll give you power to satisfy all those emotions, serve me, and you will be rewarded."

The doctor fell to his knees. He had no idea those emotions could be so powerful. Suddenly he realized the terrible forces that had moved to the great tyrants of humanity. The horrors that lie deep in the soul of man had been revealed to him. Any mortal man would have succumbed, but he had something that no men have had before.

He had the love of a goddess.

And he grasped to that love, to those all years loving Urd. He grasped to her memory, to his love for her, to his desire to protect her, and maybe even stronger, to the memory of her tears. All this helped him to overcome the emotions aroused by the crystal. And then, making a supreme effort, he closed the jewel. And suddenly all disappeared.

The doctor felt to the floor like a helpless child, and began to cry.

End of chapter X

* * *

Notes:

**Dekkan Traps:** It is one of the most impressive volcanic formations in the world. A lava flow that reached nearly two miles high. It was a huge volcanic eruption and with the meteorite that fell near Yucatan, was one of the causes of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

**Hyper-geometry**: Once you have the concept of spaces more than 4 dimensions, is relatively easy to extend the geometric concepts to any number of dimensions. These concepts are called hyper-geometry. The mathematics is not complicated, but to imagine them, is another and very different thing.


	11. Chapter 11: Between Heaven and Hell

**_I would like to hear your opinion.. really!._**

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter XI**

**Heaven and Hell**

The sound of thunder echoed through the small valley, if such a name could be applied to this strange and wild landscape that looked more like an open scar in the middle of the forest than a natural formation. The hard rock was exposed and almost no vegetation grew thereby increasing the contrast with the nearby forest. The sound bounced back and forth between the bare walls giving it an unreal sound.

On one of the valley walls, at the sound of a thunder, the rock disintegrated, leaving a crater, another series of explosions followed, each one left a new crater similar to the previous.

But those scars on the wall were not the only ones. Along the wall, could be seen hundreds of similar craters, some seemed to be very old, the oldest were smaller than recent ones.

As the smoke and dust from the explosion began to dissipate, a female figure could be seen floating a few feet off the ground.

The beautiful woman, with long white hair, closed her fists in anger as examined her work with a critical eye, then uttered a curse in an incomprehensible language, apparently she was dissatisfied. She lifted her arms and whispered a long spell as she moved her hands as if dancing; they glowed with small flashes of electricity that ran along her fingers. A smell of ozone filled the environment. There was a powerful flash much more intense than the others and soon a new crater ornamented the wall. This was considerably bigger than the previous one.

Urd finally breathed a little relieved. This always had served her to release her frustration and the rugged landscape was a silent witness of how many times it had been necessary to do so along her life.

This place was one of the few wild places still left in this perfect world and maybe that's why she liked it. Surely Heaven was a beautiful place full of order and harmony, but in search of that order, the gods had subjugated the nature of this realm and, at least at the eyes of Urd, who was born in a landscape completely different, everything looked like a giant artificial and monotonous garden.

Urd's heart rebelled against an order so perfect that it seemed to rub into tyranny. She imagined that if possible the current _Kamisama_, the title received by the ruler god of this universe, would have given certainty to the uncertainty principle, and would have tried to remove the chaos part from the chaos theory.

As the tension is released, she could not avoid bursting into laughter at these thoughts. It was not the best way to think about the "number one". Her ideas were almost heretical in a world obsessed with perfection and order.

Maybe she was not alone in thinking so, but she was one of the few who openly expressed her rebelliousness. For some reason she was tolerated with those attitudes. It was really a gentle tyranny, yet it accepted only few disagreements. More than once she had confronted directly to rules that she considered ridiculous.

And today was one of those days. Her plans to have direct access to Yggdrasil had failed by the most ridiculous reasons imaginable.

She had prepared everything. Since technically she was punished to stay on earth, Peorth the beautiful goddess of roses, was the administrator and Urd was only called in emergency cases. Yet as the main SYSOP of the system, she had always had been granted an open access.

Taking advantage that since her visit to earth, Peorth had developed a fondness for some products of the earth, especially romantic fiction, she had brought as a token lot of shōjo manga. Urd smiled, from personal experience she knew how addictive were these products of human ingenuity for the goddesses. Any outside observer would have recognized this as a symptom of dissatisfaction with their way of life, but Urd was not an outside observer.

But her cunning efforts have given not results. For some reason, there was a system alert, although no one knew the reason or would not say it. Peorth had received her greeted like old friends, despite the frictions they had in the past, now there were respect between the two goddesses. At least the magazines have been well received, but at the request of accessing the system from the SYSOP console, Peorth had refused emphatically, arguing that they were on at Indigo level alert.

An indigo alert simply meant an unknown menace was suspected and security levels were raised, so all standard access to the Yggdrasil system had been blocked and high level access was restricted only to first class gods. So despite being the official Sysop, the highest level operator, she was not a first class goddess, so she was not allowed to have access.

That of course was ridiculous, in times of crisis; she is the one that should have priority access. It was a ridiculous rule, but to add to the insult, Urd remembered she had approved that rule since she had not expected it would be applied to her. And to add a Kafkian touch, Urd had the authority to override it, but not during and indigo alert.

She was about to cause a mess, when she perceived a trace of panic in the face of Peorth. Maybe it was a little more than just an "unknown" menace. Urd had finally yielded, but on leaving, Peorth had approached her and whispered a word "Giörel."

And that name had led only to more frustration. She vaguely remembered Giörel, a young goddess that just had achieved first class status. But she had never spoken to her, just knew she was in training to replace Belldandy at the Goddess Relief Office. What would she have to do with the current alert?

But every attempt to contact her had been futile. She had just met a wall of silence. As if anyone wanted to forget about her. She had just seemed vanished without trace.

Meanwhile a gentle wind managed to clear the last traces of dust that still hung in the air and Urd was able to see the whole valley wall.

She could not help noticing that soon she would run out of space and smiled with some bitterness. Would she ever fit in this place? No matter how much she tried, something always happened.

She rose a few feet more in the air, and floated along the wall examining the craters. She could not help but feel nostalgia when looking at some of them. Each one had a story and each one also testified as her power had grown over time. It was like a diary carved in stone.

Finally she came to the first ones.

There were two small craters, one smaller than the other and Urd smiled while her eyes moistened; she approached the wall to touch then. She ran her fingers around one of them to relieve the memories of its formation. The small one had been produced by a very young Belldandy, who had brought her sister to this place. Always thinking of how to help her older sister, somehow she had known she would feel at home in this rocky place.

But alongside these small craters, there was something different. Amid the scarred wall, there was a section, which for some reason, seemed had escaped the angry outbursts of the goddess.

Urd sighed, it had been long time since she entered her hideout. She raised her hands and started singing the password of the site.

- "_Thaer Austr ok vestra enda phallus: Thar Atti lofðungr land to milli"_

The wall began to dissolve, showing it was only an illusion, behind it appeared an arch richly ornamented. The arch was carved with figures completely alien to this world, they belonged to another place, they belonged to Hell.

The sight of that arch gave her mixed emotions. On one hand the pain of separation from her home world, but also there was tenderness.

It had been Belldandy. As a very young and small goddess, Belldandy had created this place for her. A little goddess she was, and yet had made an immense effort to create this and all for wanting to help her older sister, who felt so strange in this world. She did not know where she got it, but had located a picture of one of the underground rooms from the demon world and had carved a copy for her beloved sister.

Since then it had been their secret place. A piece of her other home in this orderly world. Urd slowly descend to the ground. Then walk slowly toward the entrance. This place was so full of memories; maybe that is why she had not returned in a long time. For a few moments she forgot why was there as she become immersed in memories from her childhood.

She had entered a large room with a high ceiling, like the halls of her home realm. It had been a natural cave, amended by magic. The walls were covered with elaborate carvings; however, any demon would have noticed something strange. Some of the figures were delicate flowers, completely unrelated to Hell. Belldandy was unable to avoid giving her personal and delicate touch to this place.

In the middle of the room, there was a stone pedestal with a crystal Jewell that glowed softly, but when Urd approached it, increased its brightness, as if were recognizing her.

Carved on the walls were shelves filled with foreign objects. Those were the objects that she had brought from Hell. They were memories of her childhood in another universe that now seemed so distant. But they were also items that had an aura which frightened the gods, and therefore she had to hide them here with the help of her sister, who with a skill beyond her age had succeeded in creating a shield that prevented their aura to get out of this place.

Then she approached the crystal, the only object that her mother had given to her. Her feelings toward her were contradictory and the greeting glow of the crystal only exacerbated them.

Urd felt a spasm of pain and anger. She recalled how the admiration and awe to her mother had inspired on her and then the pain of being separated.

She had felt like a hostage in an exchange of powers. Her mother had never told the real reasons why she had been isolated and sent here, she knew the tragedy that had started all, but never understood why.

* * *

This was a large chamber excavated deep underground, with the rock walls richly and artistically carved. To a god this would have seemed grim place because their chiaroscuro, but to a demon this was a warm place. Over a highly ornamented carpet, two girls played and fought furiously, one of them wanted to snatch a toy from another. It was obvious that girls were not common. The camera was well guarded. Large and surly demons were guarding the place. Their hypertrophied muscles and vacant eyes identified as the personal guard of Hild. Stupidly powerful and deeply faithful.

There were two guards at the entrance and three more inside. They idly watched the irate actions of the girls, while they were arguing and fighting. They job was to protect them, not care for them.

- Urd, that's mine, I brought it- Claimed a skinny girl of golden hair and from her little hand came out a flash of light. Urd easily avoid it, as the flash left a mark on the wall, another more of the hundreds that already existed.

- Marler! I want it, and I will get it

A similar flash came out of her hands; it was bigger than the one from her companion, who also easily avoided it, the light crashed into one of the guards, who barely moved.

- No, it's mine, and I'm going to keep it.

Due to the lack of success of her previous attack, the small girl jump like a little fury on her partner, and soon the two rolled on the floor of the chamber.

For a moment there was only a furious confusion of arms and legs, but eventually the two fell exhausted, and for a moment remained lying on the floor. Soon they began to laugh together.

Despite the apparent ferocity of their struggle, they had not done any harm. These games that even a god would have considered violent were encouraged in this world as a child's game and part of their learning. Their superhuman bodies were hardly damaged. Finally the two kept quiet for a while and then Marler launched a theatrical yawn of boredom

- Urd, I do not understand why you cannot leave this place; it's very boring being cooped up here.

- I cannot leave without them, - pointing to the guards- and they chase away everybody from me. So I cannot have fun.

- But you're the daughter of the _Daimakaichō;_ you should be able to give them orders.

- I tried, but it does not longer work, mother must have put a spell and they just ignore me, look:

With her child's voice, issued a curse, raised her arms and launched her most powerful beam towards one of the guards. The victim shuddered slightly, and gave a brief look at the place where he had been hit. Although some smoke came out, he made no further gestures.

- See! It's useless. Previously there were only those in the door, but since the last time we escaped they are inside now. Mother was furious and gave them new orders.

- From what I hear today she is more angry than usual. Something is happening, there was much movement and they did not let me came in. I had to use the special passage.

Suddenly they watched as guards stiffen. They felt the proximity of their mistress. Heard some angry words and the door opened violently revealing Hild, Urd's mother, accompanied by an important looking demon.

- Shaikh Aman-Reng, your title does not mean I should accept your insolence. The others Shaikh agree with me. We already have seen the results of a direct war. My plan will prevent more dying. We are not so many, and we have few children. If too many dies, we will be extinguished.

- That is why we must subjugate the gods quickly. Just now some brave have risked their lives, and two of the most powerful gods are now dead. This is our best chance.

The impassive face of the _Daimakaichō_ was altered with a fierce expression full of pain.

- Those rebels disobeyed orders. They will be captured and punished; I'll take care of them personally. If they survive, they will never again disobey me.

- But...Hild-Sama! They are considered heroes! If you do it, attacks against you and "her" will increase - The demon looked at Urd with a disdainful attitude. - How many more guards you will sacrifice protecting her?

Angry sparks began to grow between Hild's fingers, buzzing furiously.

- She is the future _Daimakaichō._ Her life is more valuable than those guards. Now get out of here, this is my private place. I have to talk to her.

The man looked down on the girl.

- Someone who is half god will not be accepted as _Daimakaichō._

- Measure your words. They will accept anyone with enough power. She is my daughter and she would grow more powerful than me. Remember, someday you'll have to answer to her.

The man could not avoid showing a momentary expression of anger, which quickly changed to a submissive attitude.

- My Daimakaichō, I just want to be a humble adviser and show you the truth.

Hild look straight to the demons eyes, who looked away to not being able deal with those fiery eyes.

- I know you Aman-Reng. I know your aspirations. I know you are powerful. The most powerful of all Shaikh But you will not occupy my place. You would lead our people to extinction. I would not allow it no matter what I have to do. Now go, I may forget your title and treat you like any lesser demon.

Aman-Reng took a deep breath, trying to control his anger, he seemed about to say something, but finally made a pusillanimous bow at Hild, and retired.

Hild looked as he went away and then went to meet her daughter with all the majesty of her position. In human terms, the beauty and sensuality of her body were overwhelming, but there was much more. She exuded authority and power. Her dress was full of knots and locks that allowed her to keep her power under control, the large number of these denoted a power that almost nobody in this world would dare to challenge.

Her face now seemed serene, yet her eyes were penetrating and inhumane, they felt like a high-power laser. No one dared to face that look, a few seconds were enough to make anyone feels they wanted to cover up and hide. There was only one person in this world able to support her eyes.

- Mother! - Urd automatically adopted an attitude trying to imitate her mother, and looked directly and without hesitation into her eyes. - Why we were interrupted? We're playing!

Hild did not change the expression of her haughty face, however there was a hint of a smile at that little one who dared to do what no one in this world. She could be a worthy successor... If she survived enough. Already ten of her private guards had died protecting her from the rebel's attacks. How long she could go?

- You must be ready to go. You have to go to heaven. You'll meet your sisters.

- I hardly know them, why would I want to be with them? I want to see my father. He had not come recently.

Hild looked at the girl, her face was obscured, as if she tried hiding pain, then without any attempt to lessen the news, she told the girl:

- Your father is dead. He died along with "her".

And then waited to see the reaction of the girl. She became slightly pale, but did not change her knew her mother would not tolerate sentimentality.

- No! I do not believe you. He is a mighty god. You told me, you would not have accepted someone weak. You're lying to try me.

- Yes, you are right. He was powerful, but he had a weak spot. He attempted to protect ... "HER" - The emphasis on the last word was said with a coldness that would have frozen the mythical underworld of mortals. - Despite my efforts, the truce is broken, and he died, killed by a lesser and unworthy demon. War can come back and I ... I have also a weakness that needs to be corrected. The gods are not our only enemies. Do you understand it?

- I do not understand. What is this weakness of you? I am strong, I want to fight with you and eliminate your weakness.

For a split second, there was a glow of pride in those terrible eyes. But she could not afford to lose time.

- You will leave this place. You are my weak point. Everything is ready. You'll go to Heaven.

This time the child could not help but react.

- No! please mom! I do not want to get away from you. Why do you send me away? I am not weak, and I can get stronger.

- I already made my decision. Heaven would consider having my daughter as a guarantee to avoid war, and you will be protected with all their might. Here I cannot.

The girl was incredulous and deeply angered. She could not understand what was happening and shouted:

- That is why you send me? You're going to buy peace with me? So you already said you'd do anything?

- Do not argue with me! I'll let you alone a few moments. Prepare what you have to take, you cannot return until is safe.

The girl screamed at her full of fury. Raised her arms and shouted a furious spell, then used all her power to send a bolt to her mother. But Hild did not even seem to notice; after all she had power to destroy a solar system with a gesture. That show of power was nothing for her. But the words of the girl had been much more powerful, after all there was a mother behind that impassive face.

- Urd come closer! I have to give you something. - The girl was furious and refused, so Hild turned to use her voice of command. It had power that no one could resist - That's an order! Come closer!

Then she took a jewel from one of her earrings, and for only once in her life, her voice had a glimmer of tenderness.

- Take this crystal, one day you may need it to return. This is your key. It can only be used once and only a by a demon. So it will be useless to gods.

He took the girl's hand and gently placed the crystal on her hand. And then leaned a bit closer of her daughter and whispered something in her ear.

- And you have to do something. You must protect your sisters. You're too young, but this would be a contract between you and me.

- I do not want to do it, I do not know them.

- It´s an order... No! wait...

Hild bent down until her eyes were at level with the girl. She trembled; she could not remember ever being so close to her mother's face. And this woman used to order and be obeyed, did something unexpected. She begged.

- Will you do for me? It´s a promise I made, and I need to transfer it to you. Urd was left speechless, she knew this was a very and unusual special request. She hesitated, but finally said:

- Yes, Mother, I will do it.

- Now listen to me. I know there is a chance the gods will put you against me - The girl made a gesture of anger at the suggestion. - So we will make a very special deal between us.

With both hands she took the girl from her waist and lifted her like a doll despite her protests. Then began a chant containing complex magic instructions. Those took visible shape, before penetrating the girl's body. Finally returned the girl to the floor and said:

- With this spell, the next time we meet and you call me "**mother"** any alliance or feelings that you acquire to the gods will be erased. This is my protection. I will not risk losing my successor. Now you must go.

The girl was furious at what had done to her by her mother. To cast a spell upon her! And worst, it was loyalty spell as she did with her stupid guards. She was the daughter of the great _Daimakaichō. _That was unbearable. .

- And what if I never say "mother" again?

Hild could not help but smile at her rebellious attitude, she had been like that, but she could not afford to spend more time.

- You will do it when the time comes. Everything is ready. Soon a special escort will come to protect you. I will not be able to see you again for a long time.

Hild straightened and returned to her haughty attitude.

Meanwhile Marler had remained perfectly still, frozen by fear of this powerful being, the most formidable and fearful of their world. But she could not help making a noise, which reminded Hild of her presence.

- Ah! Marler!, come with me, I have plans for you.

Hild retired, without even turning to see if the girl obeys her. Her orders were always carried out; she did not need to make sure the girl followed. Marler barely had enough time to make a gesture of farewell to Urd, and ran behind the great _Daimakaichō_

Urd was left alone in his room. Despite being surrounded by guards, she felt all alone. All her attachments to this world were broken now. Nevertheless, she did not cry. Hild had taught her well. She just shut the hand pressing hard the small crystal, they key to return here. She felt betrayed by being expelled from there. Then formed a resolution. She would never use the crystal, never would call her "mother." That would prove to her mother she did not need her.

Hours later, the girl was faced with two small, frightened goddesses. Only then she was aware that her father, one of the most powerful gods had really died. She had never been much with him, but his brief visits had been a flash in her dark world. And now those two terrified girls, her sisters, were there, helpless and alone as herself and she acknowledged that they shared something. So the took a decision. She would protect them. But not because of Hild's orders, but because the memory of her father and because of herself. Nothing would take them apart.

* * *

Then Urd awoke from these memories, and floated to the crystal. She felt the reborn of the animosity towards it and her mother. She had been forced her to leave as a hostage in a power play. Then took the crystal and felt its demon emanations. No god would dare to touch it. But she was, after all, the daughter of the _Daimakaichō._ That power was not concerned for her.

At the touch of it, she remembered the whisper of Hild -"You must protect your sisters" -

-Protect? - Protect from what? The only possible threat to them could only come from her and her people.

Would it have to do with the threats predicted by Belldandy? Hell and Heaven, had remained bitter enemies yet forced to a truce, but ultimately that was better than the terrible war that had been about to destroy the multiverses. But few demons seemed to share Hild goals, and preferred the returning of an open war.

Hild maybe feared a rebellion. Urd did not try to think more. It hurt her to think of his mother. Then she felt the crystal was pulsing. She had vowed never to use ... but she had to accept that might need it´s help.

As a girl she had been unable to curb the power of the crystal, but now she was an adult goddess. She took the crystal in her hands, and started a magical chant to seal its power so no god could perceive it. It took just a few minutes. She was proud, since she had created that particular spell.

Urd smiled, as least, she would be able to teach her mother one or two tricks. Then took the sealed crystal and placed it on her earrings. Finally gave a last look to the objects in the room, to keep their memories. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. She had been so focused with the spell that has neglected to close the entrance.

She Turned to see the source of the noise and exclaimed:

- Lind!

* * *

End of **Chapter XI- rev2**


	12. Chapter 12: Valkyrie

A new installment and the story unfold in a new direction.  
Soon there will be more action and more mysteries; I would welcome your comments.

* * *

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter XII**

**Valkyrie**

Silhouetted against the light of the entry was the unmistakable figure of Lind. Her battle-ax suggested it was not a social call. The back light created a long shadow on the floor, so she seemed larger and even more dramatic. The pose of the goddess might seem a bit theatrical, but the most powerful of the Valkyries did not need such tricks.

Urd recalled that once, many years ago, she had been terrified by such vision. After all, even the daughter of the great Daimakaichō, could also be just a scared little girl trying to prove otherwise, while she was surrounded by their sworn enemies.

In Hell there were many disturbing legends about these powerful goddesses. Hild had said that Heaven would protect her with all their might. And she had been proved right. After she had arrived to Heaven, she had found herself surrounded by strangers and then, with and equally dramatic entry she had appeared there, as her appointed guardian. Lind name was well-known in Hell. The most powerful of the Valkyries, whose name filled with terror to some. Eventually she learned that some of those legends were mere fantasies, but others were not.

How could she ever have imagined that one day that would be a reassuring sight? After their experiences, Urd knew she was a goddess she could trust, even when she was not supposed to be there.

- Lind. What are you doing here?

In an elegant move that was not intended to be, Lind dissolved her battle-ax in the air, then, ignoring the question, she walked in, looking curiously around the hidden room. Like all goddesses she was eternally young, but her attitude and demeanor left no doubt of her position and age. Then greeted Urd with a smile that could not fail to show certain condescension to her former protégé.

- So here is where you hid your belongings.

Urd was surprised by the assertion, she was sure that this was a secret between two sisters.

- Hide them? So you know about them?

- Urd, Daughter of Hild. Do you think we would not supervise everything that came from the world we consider our greatest enemy?

Urd was a little uncomfortable, she never thought this could be considered a serious threat.

- They're just toys and souvenirs; you should not care about them. After so many years, are you still looking for them?

Lind, did not answer, instead she walked to meet her, watching with a calm curiosity the objects on her path. She approached a sphere floating in the air and despite the Urd´s claims; the sphere seemed menacing due to the sharp thorns that surround it.

- What is this? - Asked intrigued.

The sphere had a complex lighting design on its surface that responded to goddess presence. The warning cry of Urd did not arrive on time. The sphere had already been activated

- Do not touch that! It's dangerous.

The sphere had rose in the air violently and sprouted several arms with sharp weapons, and without warning viciously attacked the Valkyrie.

- Look out; let me try to stop it.

But the Valkyrie did not seem concerned, on the contrary, seemed she found it funny. The object shot some spikes to her, but they do not find anybody. She had moved so quickly that seemed to have disappeared. The sphere stooped and then two antennas like structures emerged, and began to locate Lind. The began to move increasing the speed of their attack, but Lind was faster, she even did not seem to move, she simply seemed to vanish from one place and appear in another.

Urd then recalled who was Lind, and decided she did not need to worry. That object could never hurt her, and furthermore, Lind seemed to enjoy it. Urd had rarely seen her smile and that a dangerous object would make her smile made Urd recalls some of the old legends... Lind finally stepped just in front of the object and with a gentle movement, she just touched the sphere in the center and it just turned it off, and drop gently to her hand.

- Interesting. Is this a toy?

- It meant to train young demons, is not fatal, but it can be very painful. Nobody expected we could overcome it, we should just learn to minimize the punishment and the frustration.

- Interesting approach. May I keep it?

- Why? Why you want It.? Oh, just keep it. It brings me unpleasant memories. It is just I never knew how to turn it off. I wish I have known that was the way.

- Thanks, this will serve to justify the reading of demonic magic that appeared in this place- for a moment Lind showed a mischievous face- and could be useful in training. Some of the younger ones have never felt the emanations of a magical object from Hell; it would be a useful lesson.

Urd was uncomfortable with the idea, but probably she was right; a good trainer should have some sadistic traits.

- So you are not going to tell the truth? I thought as first class goddesses, Valkyries class could not lie?

- The art of war includes the art of deception, but there is one person to whom I cannot lie, yet I am sure that He will not make any objection, you are valuable for Kamisama.

Urd clenched her fists at the words.

- Valuable? You mean as a hostage? Am I still considered a hostage? I thought my oath as a goddess would be enough.

- Urd, no matter what you choose to be, there's something you can never stop being, the daughter of Hild and even more, you still have the possibility of becoming the future Daimakaichō. But you're a not hostage. When you had your oath as a goddess, Hild was about to go to war and Kamisama accept the risk so you could stay. At least you owe him that.

- I never knew about it.

- There are some things that are not told to everyone.

- Things...? Like Giörel whereabouts? How can a goddess first class disappear? Apparently no one wants to know about her.

Lind lifted an eyebrow yet did not seem surprised. And then she smiled, in her serious face, her smiles acquired an enigmatic air, then simply ignored the question.

- Urd, on your first question. You exceed again the limit of our alarms.

- Alarms? What alarms?

- Do you know your little entertainment has always caused us problems?

- My entertainment? Do you mean the craters on the wall?

- Exactly, as your power grows with time, we had to adjust the alarm level in this area so not to trigger a major emergency, even with your goddess license your energy has a Hell signature which has a tendency to trigger our alarms and now you have surpassed all your previous marks in energy level.

Urd felt your blood boil, she had always considered that this was a private activity and now realize that this was not the case.

- What? You mean that everything I do is recorded? Am I being watched?

But her display of fury was greeted with a smile from Lind, who seemed amused.

- When you just came you were continuously monitored, it was inevitable as you are the daughter of the leader of our greatest enemy, but eventually when I had no doubt about your loyalty, and ordered to stop watching you. I do not know what happened between you and your mother, but I have no doubt you have no loyalty to her. I know you are like Belldandy who is willing to sacrifice herself for those she loves. And is no secret for me that your loyalty is not to us but to those you love. You have grown, you're not the terrified small child, trying to pretend otherwise, but I still feel that I need protect you.

Lind gave a severe look at Urd, whose fury rapidly evaporated. Usually she would not tolerate anyone to speak her is such a condescending way, but Lind inspired respect.

- Protect me? From what? - Asked Urd, taken aback by Lind´s serious tone

- In this occasion, from a perfectly trained Valkyrie's squad. On that occasion, despite being exhausted gave a good fight. You earned our respect, but I do not want to repeat the experience.

Urd was surprised by the mention of that episode, which thankfully was no longer painful, yet it did not fail to move her. To know she had earned the respect of Valkyrie was something unexpected. But what was the point now?

I do not understand. Why would I have to fight now?

Lind seriously looked at her.

- As I explained to you, you triggered the alarms when you surpassed your previous energy mark. A young and enthusiastic Valkyrie just was preparing a squad to fight back what seemed a like a great demonic activity accompanied with magic from Hell. She was convinced it was the prelude to an invasion. The squad was ready, and from personal experience, I know they would have not been well received - Then a smile lit the Lind´s face. - She is now very disappointed.

Urd was left speechless for a moment. Then she imagined the scene and could not help but start laughing. Yes, she would have put a very good fight. She was not the young and weakened goddess from the last time. Maybe even she would have enjoyed it.

- And why did you stop this squad?

- I have not protected you for so long without being able to recognize the signature of your power surges and the real causes of so many of those craters. The sudden increase of your outburst tells me you're worried about something important, and I need to find out. Also I need to give you a warning; I may not be there the next time.

- Why do you tell me all this? You are not someone who gives explanations. I have the feeling you want to say something very important.

Lind was silent for a moment, after the experiences she had lived with Belldandy, Keiichi and Urd, she had begun to assess many of her past actions. She felt there was so much to amend in her actions to her old protégé, yet it was difficult to act, her warrior skills were not very useful for this purpose. Finally decided to explain her.

- Urd, Hild daughter. For many years I was obsessed with being more strong and powerful. Thanks to you and your people I have rediscovered myself. That made me think about my actions and I realized that as a guardian, I failed. I was so distant; I could have been your guide, and friend. Because of my you got a wrong idea of the Valkyrie, yet you could have been a wonderful one. Now I know that despite some appearances, you will be a magnificent goddess, if you do not to get killed first. You are right, we need to talk. Even if there are things I cannot tell you. Now let's get out of here or that young goddess would come, so seal this place before it generates more curiosity.

Lind turned around and walked out of there without looking to see if she followed. Urd growled a little, remembering a woman who had that habit.

Outside, at the curious eyes of Lind, Urd sealed the cave. Lind approached the entrance and passed her hand across the surface. Then she looked at Urd and made a gesture of approval - Belldandy's magic? - Urd nodded, then Lind made a system call.

- Lind, Valkyrie, First Class goddess, Special Operations requests access to the training extends access to Urd, goddess of second class.

Suddenly a powerful column of light seemed to drop from the sky distorting the space-time continuum. But this extraordinary phenomenon was everyday magic for Urd, who hardly paid attention. The tunnel edges were full of powerful and ancient magic that keep at bay the structure of the space.

Lind rose to the portal, followed by Urd. The portal disappeared and the valley was silent again. Only the newly formed craters were witness that something had happened here.

* * *

Hild looked with growing irritation the information provided by the screens floating around her. Even though she was living in a world that appreciated more confrontation than cooperation, having to watch her own rather than their enemy was becoming exhausting.

As feared, the death of this young demon, Anang-Reh had caused much discontent. That he was also the son of her most powerful rival was a particularly unfortunate coincidence.

Anang-Reng now had a new excuse to challenge her, and using the death of his son as a political tool was not something he would miss.

She breathed deeply. She began to feel tired of all this. Knowing she was alone and without an heir did not help. Alone? Then she remembered the figure that was kneeling before her. But she did not want to think about it.

Hild looked around, this place was designed to enhance the impression of power, yet that did not bring her comfort. It was a large hall; the decorations on the walls were much more elaborate and baroque than anywhere else in this world, since it was here where she controlled this realm. Despite being partly in shadow, the place opulence was extraordinary.

A number of seats on the sides show the place where the council met. But only rarely it was used to its full capacity since Hild did everything possible to prevent such meetings. That increased the resentment in some, but Hild was aware of where they wanted to go most of them.

Soon there would be a special meeting that she could not avoid, and this, the place she considered a private place would soon be filled with leaders calling, fighting and arguing.

She made a gesture of disgust at the idea. For countless ages, a time so long men would have had trouble in conceive, she had been the leader of this realm, a place she had taken when it was at the edge of extinction, but no one seemed to understand that.

Finally, she decided the affair of the figure could not be postponed more. She turned her attention to the young demon that was kneeling in front of her, waiting patiently for her attention. She spoke with a tone of contempt that centuries of practice have transformed into a full art of manipulation.

-Marler, tell me one good reason I should hear that message. The message from the son of my biggest rival.

The tone provoked the desired effect, and the demon trembled with fear. She tough that if after that she still could speak then it must be important ... And the young demon spoke:

- My Lady - there was a suppressed excitement in her voice, she seemed on the verge of tears - This message comes from the young demon who was executed, and who no longer can win anything with this.

Hild looked coldly at the young demon, and her tears only increased Hild´s irritation.

- Still he still remains as the son of Anan-Reng. It is my enemy. I'm surrounded by enemies.

- Not all are your enemies, among the youth there are some that agree with you, but also fear you. Anang-Reh was their leader. He ... He just wanted the best for our world.

Marler hesitated, shuddered at the memory, which did not go unnoticed for Hild. She looked puzzled, something happened there. And she rose from her seat and approached Marler, who only could shudder in fear.

With violence, Hild cupped her face with her hands for examination.

Tears! Yes, that confirms my suspicions. You loved this demon. You loved the son of my enemy. This is treason.

- My Lady, he was not your enemy. He wanted to form a group to counter his father influence; you should listen to his latest message. I'll always be true to you, no matter what happens.

Hild touched Marler´s forehead, and concentrated to introduce her will into her mind. No mercy was showed to her most intimate feelings, in order to verify her loyalty once again. She dug into her mind and finally quit. She made a grimace.

- Love! I have not given permission for that. But I can see that you remain faithful to me. Maybe one day I will give you permission. Alright! Give me the message!

Marler, took a data crystal. She placed it between her hands and it lite as it recognized her presence. Only Marler could activate it. She finally muttered a secret keyword and the crystal floated in the air. It emitted a glow and the in mid-air appeared the image of a young demon. His countenance was calmed, it was hard to imagine he was about to be executed.

Marler ordered: - Advance to Section 3 Message to Hild. Start. The image was modified and took life

- Hail Hild-Sama. I really hope that Marler had not suffered much in order to deliver this message - Marler sobbed at hearing those words- I have limited time, soon I will be executed, and I accept this fate since it will keep peace, yet there are important things that need to be done. So please pay attention to my last words. You only see me as the son of your enemy, but I am really your ally, even death. There are many young people who want to be on your side, despite disagreeing with your methods, we share your goals and know that peace can only be maintained if you're in control. Despite our disagreement, you are still our best hope for peace. But they only will help you if you're willing to listen. Maybe you think you do not need us. For eons you have held power without needing anyone, and without listening to anybody, but that has to change. Hild-Sama. Listen:

- My father knows your secret. We already know you do not have all your power. He knows that you are weak, but does not know how much. Soon he would demand a trial, and possibly he will use my death as an excuse. He is powerful, and he will try to measure his power against you. Even if you defeat him, he will know how weak you are and this knowledge will encourage other Shaikh to join him. Together they will break power balance. Currently they fear you are more powerful than all them together, but we know you are not. If they join you will have no chance and will be defeated. Even if my people decide to help you, still will be difficult, since as a young people they have not fully developed their power, but they prefer to take risks with you. Marler can contact them, but only if you agree to listen to their demands. I made a contract between Marler and me, so you cannot force her by force. Please do not hurt her, she is faithful to you and I'll be dead, I have nothing to gain except the hope that our kind will survive. Finally, as a last duty to my father, I ask you not to kill him. He really believes he does the best for our kind. He is not really your enemy, he is not after your power and position, he truly believes this is the best way and I know it's a wrong way. Hild, listen, you cannot lead this world alone and you have no one to whom inherit your power.

Hild clenched her fists in anger and the air was filled with electricity. Her secret! How could it have been known? She looked at Marler; she was the only person close to her. She took her by the neck and lifted into the air.

Marler offered no resistance, only made a gesture of grief over the power that imprisoned her, Hild relieved a bit the pressure so she could talk.

- Hild-Sama. You can do whatever you want with me. But those words are true. Your enemies just did an energy balance. They have been measuring your use of power, and they just infer it. But I managed to get their data. They know their measurements are not accurate, so they need to test your power. The debate on the doublet system will be used as a pretext. With that, they will measure your power with precision. You cannot refuse.

Hild looked furious, yet she knew Marler was right, so slowly released her. Yet she was troubled by another thing. Ina world where paranoia was essential for surviving, she could not understand why this creature was so faithful, this creature had served her well, especially as related to Urd, but she did not understand why she did it. Marler had never tried using her proximity to Hild for her own benefit and that was very suspicious.

Then she felt a twinge of pain, she remembered Urd, If at least she were at her side. By now her power would have grown enough to tip the balance on her side.

Then looked at Marler, and realized something. She was the only person she could trust. Even her daughter had betrayed her, however Marler...

Maybe she had not her rated well. Hild approached her and again put her hand on Marler´s face, but this time she decided to penetrate more deeply. And saw:

She saw herself through the eyes of Marler. And through those eyes, Hild did not saw the terrible and powerful autocrat, but Hild, which used an impassive mask to hide her pain, the pain of the betrayal of a god, the pain of betrayal of a daughter, the pain of loneliness, and saw admiration for her strength to move forward.

Hild released her angrily. This creature could see into the depths of her being. This creature felt admiration and compassion for her, Compassion! Even if she could destroy her with a gesture.

But Hild managed to contain the anger and turned to see Marler, the young demon dared not look into her eyes. Hild began to look at this creature in a different light. Maybe there was more than she expected. Finally Hild took a decision.

- Listen. Yes, I will listen to these youth demons who believe they have enough power to help me. But I make no promises. After that I have a mission for you. It will be the most important mission that you never had. If you can manage to carry it, I will reward you more than you can imagine.

- Hild-Sama I will not do it for reward, I will because what is best for our kind.

And slowly, overcoming her fear, she looked up and meets Hild´s eyes, fighting with all her strength, and held her gaze.

Hild was amazed, only one person had been able to do that. The approached Marler and put a hand on her shoulder. Marler shuddered at the contact. Hild said

- I think I have misjudged. I have to correct that.

* * *

Urd left the portal and received a sudden impact of heat and pressure. She felt pain before Yggdrasil readjust her goddess body to this environment. She wished Lind would have prevented her, but it was typical of her to forget that not everyone was so powerful.

It was a hostile world, inhospitable, with a heavy atmosphere devoid of oxygen and filled with toxic fumes. The heat should be enough to melt lead. The pressure was so great that everything was distorted, as if instead of atmosphere it were a viscous liquid. Then looked at the sky of this world. She saw swirling clouds of an ominous yellow that barely concealed a giant, dying red sun.

The gravity also was greater than Earths. This place should not only be deprived of life, but also of any possibilities to developing it.

- What place is this?

- It's our training camp. This is a universe devoid of life, and it will not last enough to develop it. In order to train, we need to use all our power freely, and here we can do without fear of consequences - Lind looked at Urd and then made an unexpected comment - Belldandy would have offered you tea, but you can imagine that liquid water cannot exist here.

Urd laugh. Coming from Lind that was a monumental joke. Lind finally got serious.

- Now tell me why it is important for you to enter Yggdrasil?

Urd hesitated, but Lind appeared to be her only chance. Then began to explain how she had used an unauthorized access and discovered many system processes were missing, but Lind could see there was much more. Lind started a skillful interrogatory which easily overcome any lie Urd tried to put. Finally Urd gave up and decide to trust Lind completely and told her everything. She had to talk about Keiichi special record and tried avoid mentioning Belldandy, but Lind guess that easily.

Lind stared at her, and measuring it to see if it was true, then... simply smiled. Urd began to think that when Lind smiled, it was time to worry.

- Urd, you know all that you did could get you severe penalties, not only for you but also to Belldandy, even despite being Norns.

- I never mentioned Belldandy.

- There is no need; she would do anything to protect Keiichi. Urd! Listen, this is important. Do not log back illegally into the system without consulting me first. Remember, I also wish to protect Keiichi.

- So. I can do it illegally... if I consult you? You are not going to report on all this?

- Urd, would have been easier if you were a Valkyrie. I would be able to justify your actions, but at the moment you are calling too much attention. Remember that there are gods who do not forget who your mother is and we are on the brink of war.

- War? - - Urd uttered in surprise- How is this possible? Hild would never allow it without a very good reason.

- Hild no, but Anang-Reng yes.

- You mean the Shaikh Anang-Reng?

- Did you know him?

Urd closed her eyes, trying to remember the demon she had seen her last day in Hell.

- Only saw him once, but I know he is against Hild and - she tried to remember more, there was something important, and then understood what she had heard... - I think... - her body trembled with anger - he supported those who murdered my father!

- Yes, it´s true, you remember well. He also supported those who wanted to kill you.

- Kill me?

- You did not you knew? There had been several attempts to murder you. Several demons died protecting you. So Hild sent you here to protect your life.

Urd was speechless. To discover Hild true motives had shocked her. Urd always thought she was sent to heaven only for political reasons... While Hild had mentioned it was her protection, she though it had been and excuse. She had never thought it was really for her safety. Hild must had been hidden the attempts from her.

- No, I did not know- She became silent while a deep emotion invaded her. Her mother had made a sacrifice for her. All had been on her behalf. Finally said - maybe I had been unfair to her.

- Hild is a formidable opponent, but I respect her. She does not want war, but there are chances of her being overturned. So a technical anomaly in Yggdrasil will not be considered as a priority. Unfortunately now we cannot go unnoticed and avoid calling attention to you. When Hild's daughter tries to enter by force to the system from unauthorized access point, when there is a possible war, some will see it as very suspicious. Even if Kamisama trust you, he has his attention into other matters.

- But it is more than an anomaly; I am convinced there is a real threat.

- I believe you, but it is not an imminent threat. Even so, I will manage to get you access. Trust me; just be patient, even if that is the hardest thing for you to do. Now, you must return to earth, but there is something you need to do first. You must learn how to defend yourself.

- I know how to defend myself. - answered an irritated Urd.

As an answer, Lind pointed to a huge granite mountain. It seemed to have emerged recently, since there was no erosion in its irregular surfaces - Then destroy that mountain - Urd looked at it incredulous, she knew to have more power than a goddess of her age, but this seemed too much.

- What? It's too big, I am not powerful enough.

- Just do it. You are the daughter of the great Daimakaichō and your father was one of the most powerful gods. It´s time to see if you got something from them.

Urd hesitated for a moment, but Lind's words were a challenge she could not ignore. She had never tried to emulate her parents. It had been Belldandy role to emulate her father and mother, and Urd had despised Hild, yet she could not withstand the challenge.

So she looked at the mountain and tried to evaluate the energy necessary. Then stood firmly on the ground and concentrated. For some reason now Urd felt the power had arrived to her with much more ease than before. Probably her early exercise helped her. Urd began to chant a power spell, one that had never had dared to use. She had to force her voice in such thick atmosphere. Now she felt the accumulation of energy, her body was shining, on her hands began to form a ball of glowing plasma with an intensity that had never achieved before and with a furious cry unleashed a barrage against the flank of the mountain.

The ground shook, the impact was equivalent to a small atomic bomb, and part of the slope of the mountain collapsed. Urd never thought she would cause so much destruction. She stood still for a moment to recover while she looked with satisfaction to her work and then proudly turned to see Lind.

Lind remained impassive and then commented:

Is that's all? I expected something like this:

Lind raised her arm and without barely any gesture or invocation, she made appear her battle-ax, with that she threw a powerful beam of igneous and furious plasma. Part of the mountaintop was vaporized. For a moment they were covered by the hot gassed coming from the explosion. Urd had to protect her eyes while tried to avoid being overpowered by the shock, while Lind simply stood firmly. Event in that hot atmosphere, Urd felt a chill on her spine and recalled some of the legends about the Valkyries. Maybe it had been good she did not fight against that Valkyrie squad. She had never seen such power. Lind then said earnestly:

- Urd, now stop playing and concentrate.

These words made Urd felt her blood boil. Her anger boosted her power. She began to invoke the elemental forces that surrounded her. In this world inhospitable and lifeless those forces were crude and rude. Thunder, wind and thunderbolt were amplified by the thick atmosphere. In front of her began to generate fiery solar plasma, an insufferable glow like watching the inner deeps of a sun. But she had never tried to control as much energy and her anger did not help much. Soon it began to spiral out of control. The incandescent energy began to fight back against her control as something living that wanted to escape the control of her magic. Urd tried to regain control, but none of the forces she used to control lightning seemed enough. At this time no material object could survive contact with the incandescent plasma.

Lind looked alarmed when Urd tried to regain control using her bare hands.

- Urd. No... You are going to hurt yourself, do not touch it.

It was too late, Urd screamed in pain at the touch of the energy mass, and before losing complete control, shot the unstable energy toward the mountain, which almost vaporized completely, yet Urd received some of the impact and was thrown away

Lind ran to catch Urd, and then put her on the ground, where she moaned in pain. Urd's hands were burned; she felt she was going to collapsed and fought to overcome the pain. Her hands were severely burned.

- Urd, wait, do not move, I will call a healer - Urd groaned, looked at her blackened hands, yet her pride help her to overcome pain. She was better than any healer. With a mixture of pain and anger exclaimed:

- No, I do not want a damn healer, I can I heal myself -

Enduring the pain, and using her magic, floated one of her earrings and from it emerged a few small pills. Thanks to her work with Dr. Shugahara, her healing potions were now more pure and powerful than ever. She could barely move her hands and with difficulty separated a tiny pill and took it. The pills effect was fast and impressive, even for a god. She felt how her body began to regenerate the damage, she saw as her hands returned to her normal color, the pain vanished, and the burn disappeared. Then for the first time in her life, she saw Lind impressed.

- I've never seen such a powerful potion. Urd, how on earth did you accomplish that.

Urd was still in pain, but was recovering fast, yet could not avoid a short laugh at the words - "on earth"-

- I have improved my potions, with some help from earth. - Said defiantly- Even if the Gods still think potions are toys for children.

- Help? You mean that mortal you told my about. He must be very special; I'll have to meet him.

While Urd was still recovering, Lind pondered on what to do. She had strict orders against speaking about Giörel´s death, and she could not say more on the menace of war, yet she felt the necessity to help the Norns and Keiichi. But maybe if she could not break her orders, she could bend the rules.

Maybe the powerful healing potion would serve as an excuse to do something. But what? She needed to help them to protect from an attack. Urd and Belldandy had power, but the other not. Finally she took a decision and began a formal speech.

- Self-healing requires a lot of magic in a battle. Magic power that could be used for attack and defense. That healing potion does not involve using magic, nor complex spells. That can be the difference between life and death in real combat. As a Valkyrie I ask officially to share it with us. According to our traditions, I will give you something valuable in exchange. Urd was confused, she would have shared it just by asking, why the solemnity?

- You can keep it, I can make as much as you want, and In return will you answer all my questions?

- No! - Urd uttered and exasperated growl of frustration - But I'll give you something very valuable in exchange.

Lind extended her hands, and then chanted an inaudible secret spell. On her hand appeared a beautifully decorated box. The decoration and inscriptions seemed old and archaic, even for God.

Urd was surprised when she recognized it and took it with reverence. This was the closest equivalent to a sacred object for a god; it was a relic from ancient times, before they became gods.

- But this, this is so much valuable. I recognize it from the old legends and they say it was not meant to be used by gods. What should I do with this?

- You will know how and when to use it, yet I hope you do not need it, but I will feel better if you have it. I also give you advice. You created a plasma of such energy that you cannot use any material object to contain it. And the forces you used cannot hold it. Do not try to do it again if you do not know how to contain it, we use our battle-axes for that, you must seek on you own magical powers to do it. You have more power than you think, at your age I was not able to concentrate so much energy, but you must learn to control it. I can only tell you a last thing, earth is not a safe place. Please return immediately to earth and protect the people you love.

Urd held the case with reverence, it was a legendary object. If Lind gave it to her, it only could mean danger. And Lind's words made her shudder.

- Lind, you are scaring me. I will return immediately.

Urd Lind approached her and said:

- You could be a wonderful Valkyrie, but you need to focus, and to think before the act. Your mind should use your emotions to gain strength. Today you were harmed because you let your emotion overrule you. Do not commit ever the same mistake. There are people who depend on you. And I have not forgotten your warnings. If there is something wrong with Yggdrasil for me is as serious as the possibility of war. Soon you will hear more from me.

Lind then proceeded to call the portal.

- Requesting access to portal. Authorization to Urd, Goddess second class, direct connection to earth.

After Urd disappeared, Lind called one of the young Valkyries.

- Did you take measurements?

- Yes, ma'am. I had never seen so much power in a second class goddess

- She is no longer a second class goddess; I removed some of her seals to make better measurements. I have the authority to do it.

The Valkyrie looked in awe to her superior, and then delivered to her a portable data panel. It unfolded a detailed analysis of the Urd's energy and a scan of your body during the process. Lind examined in detail and then shook his head.

- She is the daughter of two of the most powerful beings we know. Her power should have exceeded what we saw, yet could barely control it.

- Exceed it? Then she would be more powerful than a first class goddess. What does it means?

- Her real power seems to be blocked. She should be able to extract energy from both Yggdrasil and Nidhogg. Look! Here in this code there is a strange sequence, this must be the block but is deeply encrypted. However I recognize it. That encryption is the signature of Hild.

- So Urd has a spell from her mother?

- Yes, I imagine Hild would have not sent her daughter to live with her enemies without any protection, I would have done it. It must be some kind of loyalty spell, which is activated by a signal or a spoken keyword. This must force her loyalty toward Hild and unleash her full power.

The young Valkyrie examined the codes then exclaimed amazed

- You did not seal her back to second class goddess! After what you know, can we trust her?

Lind looked closely at the data display, then looked at the girl and simply said:

- I don´t know. I really don´t know.

End of chapter XII

* * *

Notes:

**Strange planet**: while Venus is called the love goddess, Venus is a place similar to Hell. The planet I described here is very similar to Venus


	13. Chapter 13: Liberation

**The Order of the Mortal Knights**  
**by Elnauhual**

**Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter XIII**  
**The Search**

Still was night but a faint glow in the sky announced dawn would arrive soon. A man moved along a path in woods, lit by the uncertain light of a flashlight. The path was steep, because instead of following the main road, the man cut directly through a path in the forest towards the top of the hill. He moved without hesitation, it was not the first time he rove this way, this was a ritual he repeated frequently. Finally reached the top, where there was a small pre-Hispanic pyramid in ruins. He looked with some distaste at the place because he knew most of the damage was not because of the ravages of time, but by tourist. Finally, with a fatalist sigh, he shrugged and climbed to the top of the pyramid. In a few minutes sunrise would arrive, and at the edge of the mountain range surrounding the valley he saw a faint red glow, as if the mountains top were on fire. He breathed deeply to fill his lungs with the cold and refreshing morning air, then closed his eyes for a few seconds, to set free his imagination, and then slowly looked around.

It was a fantastic and beautiful view. The mountain stood lonely amid a sea of light. At the North, the "sea" expanded beyond the horizon and at the south it was interrupted by the mountains, where it looked as is if it were trying to invade them. This mountain, in fact an extinct volcano a few thousand years old, was like a lonely island. He tried to imagine how it must have been in the past, when this was a real island amid an ancient lake. A beautiful and ancient lake, full of life, with migratory birds, fisheries, and surrounded by a fertile land, where the industrious inhabitants of the place managed to get several harvests a year. This large lake lay like an inland sea, filling this vast valley surrounded by mountains and extinct volcanoes. To the north in the middle of the lake, there was the great artificial island where the Great Tenochtitlan, one of the largest cities of its time, had been built.

But this beautiful lake had gone, and knew that within minutes that beautiful sea of lights would disappear when the sun would reveal instead the sea of concrete and asphalt of modern Mexico City. The man was on top of Citlaltepetl, which in Nahuatl mean "Mountain of the Star", an ancient sacred place of the Nahua people. Slowly the flashes of the sun began to appear along the edge of the mountain range. Soon the wind would bring the smell of petrol, diesel and the noise of the awakening city. But he wanted to continue imagining that his mountain was a still an isolated island. All this helped him forget his problems; he would soon have decisions to make.

He stayed the a little more time to enjoy the magnificent spectacle of sunrise. Few could enjoy an observatory as appropriate; it was one of the few privileges he enjoyed as director of small and forgotten museum of "Museo del Fuego Nuevo" at the mountainside of the Citlaltepetl.

It was time to return to his office, only 15 minutes of descent, so he had time to spare. He chose to diverted his way and go through some of his favorite caves. Five thousand years ago, a volcano had emerged in the middle of the lake bed, and the encounter of the lava and the water had resulted in hundreds and hundreds of caves. Caves that the ancient inhabitants of the valley hold as sacred. In his path he found new offerings consisting on flowers and feathers. He did not know how they manage to do it, but he had never been able to meet those anonymous people, yet they never failed to put new offerings. This time the offering had the bright orange flowers from the flower of the dead, the Cempoalxóchitl. But there was a place where he would not find any offerings. A place that seemed to be cursed, and yet place full of treasures.

After a few minutes later he entered the museum building. He greeted and old guard, who unhappily told him one of the sanitariums again was out-of-order because a broken pipe. Upon hearing this, Dr. Jorge de León Rivera gave a sad sigh. He would be lucky if he could fix it within a week and may need to pay the repairs from his meager salary. Then he looked at the old exhibits. He had no budget to update them and they were already showing their age: missing lights, blurred signs, and there was no way to integrate the new archaeological finds that lay packed in museum basement.

Finally he went to his office where he had to sit down with care, since the chair was about to break. While the museum had been built 40 years ago as an architectural novelty, still had a modern look, but could not hide the neglect that had fallen upon it.

With a gesture of despair, he took a document from his desktop. It was written in the elegant letterhead of a major pharmaceutical company. Actually there were three copies of a document in Japanese, English and Spanish. It had arrived a couple of days ago and already knew the content by heart. The lab offered a significant donation to the museum. At reading the amount offered, he had almost broken his rickety chair, but in return ... and that was what made him doubt ... he should give full support to a certain person. Dr. Kenji Shugahara specialist in Ethnobotany, who needed to obtain certain archaeological piece,

He hit the desk in anger. The idea of gave away an archaeological piece, a piece so special, he even had not dared to announce its existence, to avoid been robed. Then he looked around at the museum he loved, that was going through a slow but inexorable decline. He wished he could renovate the museum, give it the importance it deserved; he wished to make new excavations in the area, with special equipment to locate the hundreds of archaeological sites he was sure to find. Everything, in exchange for forgetting his integrity and sell a piece. A very special piece.

No, He could not do it.

Then heard a knock at the door. The museum guard entered and nervously and announced he had visitors.

Dr. Rivera was intrigued, it was still very early, but actually could hear a rumor of at least half a dozen voices. He did not expect so many visitors. He took the document and left his office, then was stunned by a strange sight.

The first thing that caught his attention was a man with startling clothing. Surely he was Hindu. There were also two men, who spoke animatedly, he was almost sure they were Japanese. One of them had to be Dr. Shugahara, then looked more carefully to the older man and almost jumped in surprise. He was his idol, Dr. Saburo Sugiyama, the famous researcher who for more than a decade had explored the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon at Teotihuacan.

What was he doing here? Surely he could not possibly agree to submit an archaeological piece in exchange for a donation!

Also there were several young men, by their clothing, jeans and long hair; he could guess that they were his archeology students. They carried several boxes that seemed quite heavy.

Dr. Saburo Sugiyama approached and greeted him kindly.

- Dr. Rivera is a pleasure to meet you, for long I wished to visit your museum

Dr. Rivera attempt to recognize a mocking attitude, referring to his ramshackle museum, but apparently he was serious.

- Dr. Sugiyama, I have no words to express my admiration, for years I have followed your work, I did not expect to see you here in this small museum.

- Small museum? I hope that would end, through the proposal of Dr. Shugahara.

- Dr. Sugiyama, I hope no offense, but I think I cannot accept the offer, I cannot give that piece, and it belongs to our country.

To his surprise, as response, he heard the merry laughter of Dr. Sugiyama, who happily looked to the other and exclaimed in English to his peers.

- I told you, he is a good man. He had fought for years to rebuild this place, and his integrity is beyond question. I warned you, your letter could be misunderstood.

Dr. Sugiyama added a few words in Japanese to Dr. Shugahara. In response, Dr. Shugahara smiled and approached the puzzled director of the museum, made a polite bow and spoke in a heavy accented yet comprehensible Spanish:

- "Por favor, necesito su ayuda, el Dr. Sugiyama le explicará todo"

Half an hour later the group of men was in a cave in the middle of the mountainside of the volcano. They had to remove the rocks blocking a hidden chamber at the bottom of a cave. Because of fear of archaeological looting, the chamber had been sealed again after the discovery, until he could get budget and resources to have for a formal excavation.

While the students cleared the entrance Dr. Sugiyama asked.

- So you discovered this cave, because there were no offerings here? It was a risky and strange conclusion. How do you got to that reasoning?

Dr. Rivera was a little nervous, as a student who needed to explain his reasoning to a teacher. Suddenly they were interrupted by Dr. Shugahara, who with an enthusiasm that seemed almost childlike, was studying a bouquet of striking orange flowers he had picked up from an offering along the way to the cave. In his enthusiasm he was speaking in Japanese, so Dr. Sugiyama had to translate.

- How do you call these flowers? What are they used for? Do they have any magical or therapeutic property? Why are they used in the offerings?

After a barrage of questions, Dr. Rivera could not help but smile at the enthusiasm. He began to like this person, so he answered:

- It is known as Cempoalxóchitl or flower of the dead. There have no known therapeutic properties, but its aroma is said to help the spirits of the dead to find their way back home to visit their families. They are considered as a beacon for the spirits. I will ask my staff at the museum to send you some samples and documentation if interested.

The satisfaction in the face of Dr. Shugahara was more than enough to know that he wished that. Then Dr. Rivera asked him and his companion to come closer in order to explain them about the discovery of the cave. Although he felt uncomfortable being the focus of the three experts, he wanted to explain his discovery.

- For thousands of years, the caves of the volcano had been considered passages to the spiritual world and are supposed to open at certain times of year. Even today, people still come here and place offerings to ask permission to communicate to the spiritual world where gods live. It occurred to me there might be undiscovered caves, so I started making a map where the offerings were placed. I found some new uncharted caves, but also I noticed there was an area where there were no offerings, yet there was a known cave there. That suggested to me that the cave could be special, so I decided to investigate further. While exploring the cave, I found a false wall that seemed intact. And this - he said, pointing around him- is what I found behind.

The hidden camera seemed crude and primitive. The walls of solidified lava had been barely modified. Some parts had been expanded and several niches had been carved, but there was nothing like the elaborate reliefs and carvings of prehispanic civilizations, like if this place were from a very different civilization. There were hundreds of pieces of clay idols, others idols were carved in volcanic stone, and scattered among them a few made of gold and silver. The walls also had primitive paintings. They all had something in common. All were facing to the center of the cave as an army of keepers. They were figures of ancient gods, most of them already forgotten. There were also everyday objects made of wood, stone, clay and obsidian and in one corner, a human skeleton arranged as if guarding the place. It would take years of work to study and classify the content of this place; they were all unique and wonderful objects.

But there was something strange. The group had entered the cave with a sense of wonder at the place, but inside they felt a strange feeling. A deep sadness was in the atmosphere. It seemed to be something in the environment. They felt uneasy, as if something ominous were about to happen.

And in the center of the cave was a crudely carved lava pedestal. And in the center of the pedestal rested a gold idol. This seemed crude and ancient. Possibly made by the old method of lost wax.

- Aztec? - Asked Dr. Shugahara in puzzled wonder.

- No, said Dr. Rivera, quietly and with some awe voice- The Aztecs a really very recent culture. Their civilization is barely over 800 years old. This is much more ancient, possibly three thousand years old or even more. These figures are gods and guardians who watch over that idol. Actually today is very rare to find a gold piece. The conquerors took all the gold they found and melted, they were not interested in their artistic or historical value. This piece is very special. Look, is from a time when there was still no writing in these lands, and yet, has marks, as if they were trying to say something. Whenever I come to this place, I get chills; I feel that here is something evil here. Sometimes I wish to close this place, but it's an important discovery, it will change all historical concepts of Mesoamerican civilizations.

As he spoke, the students had opened the heavy boxes, and took out several screens, similar to those used by those working with X-ray equipment. They had a lead lining to protect against radiation. Although they had explained to him their purpose, it was still strange seeing this kind of equipment in an archaeological site. The group followed the instructions they had received and moved behind the screens, which had a special leaded glass in order to be able to see the other side.

After they were in place, Dr. Shugahara put on a heavy lead apron and a special mask. Then picked up a box that had the international radiation symbol and carefully approached the pedestal.

Dr. Rivera felt his heart missed a beat. This man was about to alter the archaeological scene, and his footsteps on the ground would leave marks. Then he saw Dr. Shugahara when he took the gold idol, and could not avoid shouting when it seemed he was trying to break it.

His cry was interrupted by an energetic gesture of Dr. Shugahara. He continued his operation, and finally showed him the results. He had managed to separate the base of the piece and found something inside. It looked like a teardrop jewel; it shined with its own light, and gave a sickly green glow. Suddenly the atmosphere of the place became even more heavy and oppressive. Despite the special protection, some of the power of the crystal came upon them. Dr. Rivera, who was behind the screen, watching, could not help but feel a deep anxiety, loneliness. He began to feel a craving, craving for fame, financial success, power...

Suddenly all those alien thoughts ceased, as if by magic

Dr. Shugahara had placed the jewel in the heavy box with insulation against radiation and when he closes it, it seemed as if someone had turned off a switch.

The oppression felt in the cave suddenly disappeared. Now the feeling had been replaced by an inner peace, as if after seeing the worst of one, you could appreciate the good parts.

Dr. Rivera then realized that everything they had told him was true. The crystal was from a distant past, and had been hidden there to protect humanity from its possible effects. What kind of man would be the Dr. Shugahara who dared to deal with such powers?

Dr. Shugahara turned to him, smiled and offered a little bow. It was like he had read his thoughts. Behind the radiation-proof suit, his face seemed strange and unreal. He raised his hands and showed him the gold figure, so he could see it had not been harmed. Then approached him slowly due the weight of the suit, and gave him the gold figure, now empty and said something he could not understand, but that his colleague translated.

- Gold was the best they had to protect themselves from the crystal influence, it is even more efficient than lead, but it was not enough since they could not understand how it works. The idol is now harmless. With the donation you can now explore this place, but we ask you not say what you have seen, until we understand better all this.

- Then, are there more crystals like this?

- Exactly, there are more. Then Dr. Sugiyama commented: As a specialist, you must know the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan was built over a cave. But we have never posted pictures of the cave. For some reason, we were never able to take any pictures, negatives always were ruined, and digital cameras only capture noise so we suspected some kind of radioactivity, and restricted the access to the cave until we could understand what was happening. Yesterday, Dr. Shugahara taught us what was hidden inside.

- Why are you looking for these crystals? They seem to be dangerous. What are you going to do with them?

- You will know someday, and I hope it will be soon. For now I can only tell you the explanation is more fantastic than you can imagine. Dr. Shugahara should continue his search, and must continue his journey.

Dr. Shugahara approached him, along with the Hindu; he had a solemn expression and made an elegant bow. I his face he found a resolution had not seen before in any other person and it made him shiver. This man seemed to have a divine mission to fulfill. So he imitated his greeting as best he could and wish him the best of luck. The Dr. and his companion leave away, while Dr. Sugiyama decided to talk to him and make a couple of proposals.

- Since we are here with some students, why do not start cataloging this magnificent archaeological site?

- But what about Dr. Shugahara?

- He has a mission to accomplish. I am sure we will hear more from him. And that reminds me of something. Have you heard of the organization called "the primates"? I think you would like become part of it.

After influence of the crystal had disappeared, Dr. Rivera was feeling euphoric. The result was a long and a very productive day. The small museum would see better times.

The next day, Dr. Rivera would find a beautiful offering of flowers at the entrance of the cave, and for a moment he would forget his scientific skepticism to wonder if the old prehispanic stories about gods living with humans would have some truth.

* * *

Walharen third class demon and deputy Sysop of Nidhogg cursed his luck. First, his application to be integrated into the combat division had been denied again, and with it his last chance of becoming second-class demon had evaporated. For a demon he looked younger than average, while his clothes indicated he belonged to the despised administrative class, they could not hide a slender, yet athletic body. Despite being responsible for keep the inner workings of their world the administrative class was considered the lowest strata of this society and all attempts to change his status have been viewed with scorn. Bitterly he recalled the assistant of recruitment words.

- Your skills as a Sysop are unmatched, so you will continue in that position, no matter what you've been the best in combat exercises. I'm sure you're combat skills will be useful to deal with ... programming bugs. - The laughter of the assistant, just bit older than him, was still ringing in his ears.

And now, as it had been a prediction, this morning it had been unleashed an epidemic of bugs in the system. The main hall was a beehive of activity, but almost all it was devoted to trying to answer the angry calls of all users, while only the SYS-OP deputy, was really dedicated to solving the problem.

Finally after a whole day of frantic activity, the strange bugs had disappeared, but he knew it was not because of his skills. A few days before he had observed activity of unknown origin. Almost had sworn it was a targeted attack, yet he knew Heaven would never try something like that. There was a tacit agreement, since the existence of Heaven and Hell depended on the smooth working of those extraordinary supercomputers Yggdrasil and Nidhogg, it was assumed that interfere with them would be almost suicidal, so any attempt and was heavily punished by both sides. The last demon that had tried to interfere in Yggdrasil had been sentenced to become a non-sentient being, so he did not believe that someone from Heaven would to try to do something similar. Yet, he could not put aside the suspicion that this was some kind of attack.

But to inform of his suppositions to his superior had resulted in a new frustration:

- Since it´s your discovery, it is your duty to go with Hild and inform her personally. The credit will be all yours!

The ominous laughter of his superior reminded him that Hild did not appreciate receiving bad news, especially since it was only a guess. Now he was on his way to the council chamber. He really was in no hurry to arrive, so decided stay a few hours at the Hall of the records and leaves his affairs in order, just as a precaution. Actually he had nothing important to fix, but he thought that leaving his suspicions in writing, could be useful to his successor.

* * *

It was afternoon at the Morisato residence; all was strangely silent when the old TV screen came to live. Urd was returning home.

The screen lit up and materialized the beautiful figure of the goddess, but she was still floating in the air when she cried in surprise.

The atmosphere was full of magic. It was very powerful magic that permeated everything, not only that, but the magic surround her as if trying to identify her. It was like a living thing that wanted to touch her. She felt invigorated and euphoric by contact with the magic; since after it recognized her, it welcome her. Then she understood. It was Belldandy´s magic, as a first class goddess, only she could do this kind of magic. So powerful and yet so gentle and kind.

What she was doing? It was extremely advanced magic and possibly it was against regulations. Then hear voices in the yard and rushed to find out what was happening.

At the sight of what she found, even Urd, heir of the most powerful beings from heaven and Hell could not help but express admiration.

Floating in the air was Belldandy, but it was not sweet Belldandy, the perfect girlfriend and the innocent girl, but the powerful goddess Belldandy, in her full ceremonial dress and carrying out the most complex spells.

On the floor was laid out an incredibly complex symbol, which received all her power and reacted as if it were a living entity, since it twisted, changed shape and information as it spread its influence throughout the temple. This magic was really an incredibly complex program that altered the structure of space to give it new properties.

At one end of the courtyard was Keiichi, both amazed and proud to see the power of his love one. He had rarely seen the display of her power at this magnitude, and then he remembered one of her titles. A title he had found after he entered the archives of heaven, "Belldandy, a goddess among gods"!

She was singing a magical chant, but Keiichi for experience knew very well that was more than just a simple song. On the surface it sounded like a simple tonal theme in Doric mode, but it was full of complex information which was channeled through the symbol, getting into the fabric of space-time around the temple. Her face was serene and majestic, while manipulating the forces of nature like they were a delicate lace.

Then she stopped when she felt Urd´s presence. With an elegant gesture, she stopped her handling and floated toward her sister.

Urd had begun to recognize the purpose of this magic. She was creating several layers of protection, interconnected and at the same time differentiated one from another, each one with a different purpose. The magic structure had such power, even her mother would find difficult to penetrate. The question was why she was doing it?

-Belldandy, what does all this mean? Using your power at this level could cause problems with heaven.

But Belldandy did not answered, instead approached Urd with a look of surprise and gently touched her face.

- Urd. What happened to you? Your markings!

Urd suddenly became aware of her new status. The strange atmosphere at the training center and its adaptation to that environment had prevented her from recognizing Lind had removed her seals as a second class goddess. But now, on earth she could feel the difference. That explained why it had been easier for her to release her power at the training camp. The Valkyrie had changed her license to be a goddess first class, but why?

- Lind, this is the work of Lind, she said there were in danger - and then Urd laughed merrily, as she realized what it had been done - It seems I have been recruited. Lind really has a sense of humor - She touched her new marks to read her new status: "Valkyrie in training, temporary license as a first class goddess". This is the last thing I expected to become: Valkyrie! - Then she became serious and looked at the complex magic Belldandy was releasing- I can see you have created several layers of magic barriers. The external one creates an illusion. The next one would enclose any energy release, you could have a nuclear attack inside and nothing would be detected, but the inner layers are behind my comprehension. Why are you putting this? Did Lind warn you about the danger? Then Lind must have told you things she did not explain to me.

- No, it was not Lind but Sensei Shugahara.

- Kenji? But how? , He should not even know that we are goddesses!

- I think you've underestimated him. He already knows much more than we thought it would be possible. But let's talk about that later, we can use your new powers. Help me to complete the protection barriers. Between the two we can make them even more powerful. Then I'll explain you everything.

At the thoughtful expression of her sister, Urd decided to join the effort and defer her curiosity. As a newly appointed first class goddess, it was a new challenge to try to be at the same level as her sister. The two goddesses floated above the magical path and began to sing. A song so beautiful no mortal would be able to forget. Delicate and powerful, primitive and complex.

Keiichi was the only witness to such a marvel. The vision of two Goddess releasing their powers made him feel small and humbled by the cosmos they represent. But also, to know he was loved by a goddess like Belldandy, made him feel he would be able to face the universe for her love.

Finally the spell was completed. The two goddesses descended slowly to the floor, while around the magic seemed to fade, but Keiichi knew it was just an illusion. Belldandy had explained to him the magic protection would be undetectable. It was a protection, but they also were setting a trap.

So when the goddess touched the ground, it seemed nothing had changed and Belldandy changed her ceremonial dress of a goddess, for the simple garb of a common girl. For a fraction of second, Keiichi had a glimpse of her perfect body. Belldandy could not help but blush, noticing the look of Keiichi. She was very conscious of the impact her body had on him. But Keiichi simply approached her and took her divine hands into his hands, then looked at her with worshiping eyes. It was a gesture new to him, and that filled the goddess of happiness. But then both recalled Urd´s presence. Keiichi was the first to react and spoke to Urd:

- Two days after you left, I received an email from Dr. Shugahara- He produced a folded paper from one of his pockets and gave it to Urd - It has a strange tale about a goddess called Giörel, who was killed while serving her mission to grant a wish for a mortal.

Urd gasped in surprise at hearing the name of Giörel. She had died! Keiichi also trembled as he uttered those words and took Belldandy's hands again, as if he feared she would disappear.

- There is no way it could be a hoax, all details are correct, Belldandy knew Giörel, her description fits, and there is even a the image of her business card. Dr. Shugahara went to meet the man who had to receive the wish, is a young Hindu.

An incredulous Urd had been reading the letter from Dr. Shugahara. It was written with his usual precision. All details explained and verified. He had gone to great lengths to verify the story.

- Kenji! Then that's what was so urgent that he had to leave immediately. Because he had to check it personally - Her eyes grew moist as she realized he was doing it on behalf of his love.

Belldandy spoke, as echoing her thoughts.

- Sensei Shugahara spoke personally with me by phone. He knows very well what we are, I even think he understands it better than anyone, seems he have managed to decipher completely your notebook, I never expected a human could do it. He was very scared and insisted that we should do something to protect us. Then he commented he was trying to find a way he could help to protect us.

- Did he say that? - Urd exclaimed shocked - If it were someone else, I would not have to worry, but Kenji? He is beginning to understand magic; he can try to do something dangerous. We must stop him. Where is he?

- I don't know, but I trust him and I think you should do it too, I feel he has enough wisdom to know what is he doing, he is very special. But seems you also have news from Heaven. What did you found?

- I also heard about Giörel, but I tough she had just disappeared since nobody wants to talk about her. There is fear. For the first time since the war ended, there is fear in Heaven. They believe war could return.

Belldandy was surprised at the news.

- Are you sure? Despite everything she has done, Hild has always sought peace.

- Hild wants peace, but there is another person who is seeking her position. Belldandy, this is serious, I think the responsible for the death of our father and your mother is behind everything is happening.

Belldandy turned pale at these words. The death of his parents had been a deeply traumatic event. Among mortals, death was considered a natural and inevitable, but her parents were meant to be immortals. Even after millennia the pain had not decreased. For a god thousand years was barely yesterday. Belldandy felt weak so Keiichi rushed to embrace her, fearing she would faint. Belldandy tried to speak, but the emotion was too powerful. Of the three Norn, she had been closer to her parent. Skuld was very young, and Urd was living with Hild. Belldandy always had been easy on tears, and this was no exception. At that time she ceased to be the powerful goddess, and become fragile young woman. Her feet refused to support her and Keiichi had to hold her. Belldandy made efforts to stand, but the sudden excitement had weakened her, so Keiichi lifted her in his arms, and pressed her body against his chest. Then he gave Urd a hard look, making her responsible for the words that had brought pain to her loved one.

-Urd, you're hurting her, you should not keep talking about it - But Belldandy turned her sweet face towards him and said.

- Keiichi-san. On the contrary, I think it's time to speak, is just that Urd is stronger than me, but I'm sure she feels the same. Please take me inside, soon I'll be fine, but we have much to explain to you. Maybe it´s time I will answer your question about who I really am.

* * *

By Hell standard, this was a very small room, especially considering the number of upstanding figures in it. It was a room that looked freshly excavated, the walls were plain and bare, and magic had barely touch it´s walls. Maybe that is why it was the perfect location for a conspiracy. The room was almost in darkness as if those involved were afraid that their faces were recognized.

In the center of the room the Shaikh Anan-Reng heard a status report from the head of the council:

- Hild has put again the council meeting on hold. It is an outrage to our endowment. But we cannot do much; she has the authority and the last word.

The powerful Shaikh Anan-Reng commented in triumph

- This confirms our suspicions. She is afraid. In ancient times she would be the first to attack and show her position. Now, this only means one thing: She is weak and she is afraid to show it.

- But that has barely use for us, we do not know how weak is she, even with a diminished power she is still more powerful than any of us. We cannot afford take a chance.

- Cowards! That is exactly why we should take risks. She may be more powerful than any of us, but she is not more powerful than all us together. We just have to dare to act.

- Do not use that word so lightly. If this were an open meeting I would challenge you test your words. But that's not the point. If you cannot prove that she is really weak, we would not support you. It may be just a trap.

- Then we must force her to act. So we can test her powers.

- And how you will force her? We've tried everything.

The Shaikh Anan-Reng laugh for himself.

- There is a way. The key is not here. It's now or never. I need five volunteers to join me.

There was a murmur, while several of those present walked away into the shadows and then simply disappeared. Soon only a few stayed. Half-dozen major demons were still in the room.

- I knew it, they are simply cowards. But with your aid it will suffice. But we also must bring some guards with us.

One of them replied with a mocking tone.

- Three Shaikh, two tribunes and several guards. Do you think it will be enough?

Anan-Reng looked at him with anger at his rebuke, but he was his ally and had to tolerate his insolence, at least for the moment, so he just replied:

- If we have power, we should use it. I'm sure will be fun. Hild will be bound to have a council meeting and eventually will be the true rulers of our destiny.

* * *

Two men were standing on top of a huge block of stone. One was an old and experienced engineer and the other his young assistant. They seemed tiny compared to the monumental block of solid granite. It had a 60 feet long, twelve feet high and wide, and was estimated to weigh over 1,200 metric tons. Other slightly smaller blocks were used to build the foundations of the nearby Temple of Bacchus, in the ancient city of Heliopolis in Lebanon. But this particular block, the largest mass of stone that had been tried to move in the ancient world, was only a few meters from the quarry where it had been cut. Many believed that it had simply been too heavy to move, but the letter that the old engineer had in his possession, had another and very different explanation. It had not been abandoned, had been placed there to hide and protect something. But the letter was clear, he should not comment about it. That information was given to him, only so he could take it into account when he tried to move the block. The contract required him to remain silent until the publication of the full scientific report. The engineer was not surprised by the request. He had previously worked with Archaeologists and knew how important was to publish first in a peer review scientific journal.

Meanwhile, he looked at the block. It seemed incredible that such a mass of rock had been moved without modern technology, and now, more than two and a half millennium later, a few engineers and technicians, were ready to put modern technology to test and compare their work against what the Roman engineers had solved with ingenuity and an army of men.

- So everything is ready? Have you run a test on the hydraulic cylinders? Is the crew ready?

- All is tested and ready. But I would prefer we had more time to plan this. It is not something that our engineering firm does every day. If we did not record this, no one will believe us. I do not understand the rush. Even the archaeologists didn't know that to expect.

The old engineer smiled - You should not worry about them, I am sure they will be happy. But I'm not really interested on their findings. This feat is what will make us famous. Vitruvius would be fascinated by our technology.

- Who's Vitruvius?

The old engineer nodded in resignation to his young assistant.

- Vitruvius is the most famous Roman engineer! He described how the Romans could move these weights. What the Romans managed with hundreds of pulleys and army men, we will do with just 20 hydraulic jacks, each one able to lift one hundred tons. You ought to know more about those ancient engineers. We can still learn from them. Now go to your position and wait my orders.

The huge block was supported by a series of steel scaffolding structures, divided evenly to support the weight. They were much more resistant than those wood structure used by the Romans to move this block, and the energy from several diesel generators would be enough to replace the army that had contributed with their muscular effort.

The younger engineer descended from the block by a rope ladder, and once in position, took out his radio, waved and signaled he was ready to receive the orders.

The senior engineer then began to issue his instructions:

- Open the valves start with ten bars of hydraulic pressure applied to each piston.

The block received a gentle shock as the power was applied. The engineer waited a few seconds to make sure nothing was loose. Then he gave new orders.

- Now increase the pressure, give me an increase of ten bars every five seconds.

The engineer inclined to check an accelerometer that was attached to the rock. He smiled with satisfaction, while he felt no movement, but his instruments were able to measure it. Millimeter by millimeter, the block began to move.

- Now, keep increasing until the pressure reaches 650 Bar and hold it for 30 seconds.

This time the block started to move in a visible way and yet the movement was so smooth that practically it was not felt. He just needed to move laterally the block twelve feet, according to the agreement he had signed. The pistons could move it only two feet at a time, but it would be easy to repeat the maneuver. He had been tempted to offer to move the block to the foot of the temple of Bacchus, so he could really compare his job against the ancient Romans.

Still, his look of triumph was evident. This would be the most dramatic moment of his career.

Just half an hour later, the monolithic block at the Baalbek quarry had been moved twelve feet and the engineer's crew began to cheer, ready to celebrate their feat. One of them did not hesitate to fill his helmet with champagne and offer a drink to everyone. The general uproar announced a great celebration. While this had been planned years ago along with an engineering faculty, just a week ago, they had to found an unexpected donor.

Meanwhile, a small team of archaeologists, trying not to attract attention to much, were looking around the newly exposed ground. Suddenly one of them called for attention. He had discovered what a carved entrance seemed. He could not hide the thrill in his voice. Until that moment all this procedure seemed like a wild guest. They would have to wait until all were celebrating to enter without witnesses. Trying to make as little fuzz as possible, some workers left some heavy boxes nearby the concealed entrance; one of them was painted with a signal. The international symbol for radioactive danger.

End of chapter XIII

* * *

Notes:

- **"El museo del fuego nuevo**" I live nearby this small museum in Mexico City, while the museum staff is very enthusiastic the museum really need repairing. The view from the pyramid on top of this small volcano is really wonderful.

- I dared to include** Dr. Saburo Sugiyama** in this fan-fic. For more than a decade he has worked in archaeological excavation at Teotihuacan.

- **The pyramid of the sun**, the second biggest prehispanic pyramid was built over a sacred cave; unfortunately the cave was empty, yet archaeologist keep searching in the hope to discover something.

- In 1990 it was discovered a huge monolith in the quarry at** Baalbek** (Lebanon), with an estimated weight of 1,242 tons is the largest stone block carved in one piece. It was meant to be carried to Heliopolis.


	14. Chapter 14: The battle at the temple

I am sorry it took so much time to finish.  
This chapter is rather long, but I just could not stop writing.  
I hope that reading it would be as exciting as it was to write it.  
So please share your thoughts.

**Javier Delgado**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**  
**By Javier Delgado**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

**Chapter XIV **

**The battle of the Tarikihongan temple**

**_Segi mjök Sundrbornar Norns ek vera, Thaer ætt Eiguer saman-t; _  
_eru áskunngar add, add alfkunngar, Thad Meyjes koma_  
_Theimer RÓ vitandi marg þrjár sae, und er þolli stendr; _  
_Urd Hétu eina, Adra Verdandi þriðju Skuld ina; _  
_Thaer lög lögðu Thaer alda Bornum lif kuru, ørlög seggja_**

Those words echoed in Keiichi´s mind. The access to Yggdrasil had overwhelmed him with information but those simple verses recited by Urd in an ancient language were the key he had needed to understand. Thanks to his brain altered by the predictive defense program, he could understand clearly the word:

_- Of many births the Norns must be, nor one in race they were; _  
_some to gods, others to demons are kin. _  
_Thence come the maidens mighty in wisdom,  
three from the dwelling down 'neath the tree;  
Urth is one named, Verthandi the next and Skuld the third.  
On the Yggdrasil, three laws will make, _  
_and life allotted to gods, men and demons._

Keiichi looked to the delicate girl whose head was leaning on his shoulder. Belldandy, a goddess among goddesses, procreated with the purpose of ruling the fate of the gods, and who would be the future Kami-sama. Her sister Urd, procreated to be the future Daimakaichō and rule over Hell, and finally Skuld, procreated so one day she would be the ruler of human destiny. They were the Norns, intended to be the most powerful beings in the multiverses.

The previous day had been a day full of revelations. Nevertheless, the explanations given by Urd and Belldandy had only fueled his sensation that there was still much to understand. He understood that Urd had parted ways from her mother and maybe never would be the Daimakaichō, but also seemed Belldandy rejected her future.

In addition, the preparations against a potential threat and witness the power of the goddess, reminded him how fragile life is.

Today he had been thinking about the implications. Belldandy seemed to sense his concerns, but she also had been silent. Keiichi after living four years with her, sensed something was wrong but did not want to push her, he trusted her and decided wait.

Keiichi and Belldandy were now sitting in the temple´s garden, Belldandy had told him there would be a beautiful sunset, and she wanted to share it. That was an experience Belldandy had taught him to enjoy, but he understood this time that was not the real purpose. Belldandy wanted to be alone with him.

Words were unnecessary, all they needed was to feel their mutual presence and share it along the rhythms of nature. Keiichi had learned to perceive the delicate yet powerful magic of Belldandy, while she enjoyed being surrounded his beautiful aura, they complemented each other.

Nevertheless, Keiichi´s thoughts were running in all directions. He continued hearing those words and all that entailed. Belldandy was the Norn, the powerful goddess, but more important, she was the one he loved. What he could do for her? Could he help her to find her way to the future? He was only a mortal. But then maybe it was his own mortality, his own life, the most important thing he could offer. If he needed to give her his life, he would do it.

Moreover, he wondered, what would be the destiny of his goddess? The three sisters were born with a purpose. However, it seemed something had gone wrong. Their father had died too soon. He had dreamed to end the conflict between gods and demons, but his unexpected death had prevented him to make sure that happened. Urd had left Hell, Belldandy struggled against her given purpose, and Skuld seemed to lack the great magical powers of her sisters. In addition, there was opposition in both universes. Opposition that seemed could reach deathly proportions.

Keiichi was shocked by the though and hugged Belldandy. She seemed surprised, but embraced him as if guessing his thoughts.

- Keiichi-san, please do not let anguish to flood your hearth. The problems of demons and gods are not yours.

- Belldandy, I care about you and about the matters that affect you. If the gods and demons want to go to war, let them 'coz I'll always protect you. I know compared to you, I am just a weak mortal, but something tells me I can make a difference. For long, I have been thinking about this. You are an immortal, my life is insignificant compared to what you have lived and when I die, you will continue to exist for an eternity.

Belldandy shuddered at these words; she knew what Keiichi meant to say.

-Keiichi-san, please do not think about death. You must think about life. You always will live in my heart.

Keiichi leaned to rest his head on Belldandy. He knew something had changed. In the past whenever he had tried to approach her, he had felt, no rejection, but something more subtle, it was as if she feared contact. Now it was different, this time he felt Belldandy longed that contact. They were so close, he felt the warmth of her body, and then he took her hand again and felt Belldandy responding to the contact. He held her hand tighter but Belldandy avoided his gaze.

-I know someday I will die, but I am not sad about it, since you give a meaning to my life. It does no matter if I live to be old or die next week. My life is yours.

Belldandy sighed deeply and kept her face away to avoid Keiichi. She did not want him to see her eyes as they filled with tears. She felt fear at Keiichi´s words and yet they filled with the greatest happiness. She Breathe slowly to try to prevent her voice failed.

-Please Keiichi-san. Say no more. Let us share the moment, the sun goes down, and we know it will come back, yet this moment will not be repeated.

-Will not be repeated?

Keiichi thought about the meaning, he dropped Belldandy´s hand, then gently took her face and forced her to face him. At the sight of her eyes filled with tears, his heart sank. He knew that for some reason, he was the cause of those tears. The emotion overflowed him, and then he knew there was only one way to stop those tears. It was something he never dared to do. Mastering anxiety, he slowly got neared Belldandy´s face. Belldandy shuddered as she realized his intentions.

- Keiichi-san, please don't, you do not know what will happen after that.

For a moment, Belldandy remembered her nightmares, but the sound of Keiichi´s breath so near to her dissolved them.

- Belldandy, I love you. I know you already know that, but for me always have been hard to say. No matter what happens tomorrow, you told me this moment would not be repeated. My life is very short compared to yours, but at least I hope it will be a bright and beautiful spark, even if it lasts so little.

Keiichi was closer to Belldandy, He now could feel her breath, and knew that despite the words of the goddess, she also wanted this.

She closed her eyes, and there was no going back, but did not dare to approach, so she eagerly waited for Keiichi. Slowly, their lips meet and for them the world disappeared.

Meanwhile, the sky was now full of stars completely indifferent to the scene they lit. Around the world millions of couples sheltered by night, shared the gesture, but only the simple act of this special couple could change the destiny of the stars.

* * *

The place was full of large and complex equipment, however, was it was relatively lonely. Many studies were done on an automated mode, so it could be done without human supervision, but in front of one of most complex equipment, there was a lonely girl.

Jenny Rosenthal could not stop expressing her anger in words that seemed not very appropriate for this place. She was sure to be just wasting time, but her postgraduate supervisor had placed great emphasis on this particular study and Professor Yoichiro Nambu was not an easy person to ignore.

Three times, she had done the study and three times had obtained impossible results.

- Damn! - She shouted again, when the computer display presented a new series of data.

She had asked already Professor Nabu to stop this nonsense, but he had insisted her to continue, since he considered she was her brightest student and the best operator for the "Circle Huber diffractometer for synchrotron radiation", the most complex equipment in the section of "Advanced Photon Source" at the Argonne National Laboratory.

With despair, she examined the graph again. - This is impossible! – she screamed with rage.

The result was meaningless; it was against everything she knew about quantum physics. Maybe the equipment was faulty, but she had already run a diagnosis.

She was Professor Nambu brightest student, but for a moment wondered if he would have something against women. What reasons could he have to force her do this farfetched test?

It had been innocent enough, Professor Nabu just asked her to verify the alleged properties of a crystal. However, the ridiculous letter she had received along the sample, invoked special properties beyond logic and it was from a person who was not even physics. She smirked at the thought of the e-mail sent to the author in response. She expected to have cut him into very small pieces.

Finally, she tried to calm down, and then decided to compare this result with the previous ones. Maybe then, she could find the source of error.

She opened her data files, then compared the results and suddenly just froze.

She had four tests and all had exactly the same results within the range of experimental error. Such a coincidence was almost a statistical impossibility. Now she wondered, maybe the result was not so outlandish. She closed her eyes, and made some mental calculations. Then her heart began to accelerate and swallow hard.

The equipment had scanned the structural properties of the samples with an accuracy of microns. She had also used X-ray spectroscopy and fluorescence. In addition, the entire test matched.

Her pulse quickened, again she review the results to make sure she was not missing something important. Then she closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and yelled a resounding:

- Yahoooo!

It was a cry appropriate for a teenager at a concert, not for a physics graduate student in a sophisticate laboratory, but she did not care. This was extraordinary, she had to confirm it again, but her doubts had vanished. Now she knew there was something special here and as soon as she wrote the report...

Suddenly froze and screamed in horror

- The** E-mail!**

She swallowed, a young woman in the competitive and essentially male world of physics, is not someone who is accustomed to apologize, but she would have to. With slightly trembling hands, she sat in front of her laptop and began writing an email.

It was a difficult moment; she was just discovering the difficult art of apologizing, without coming to accept that she was wrong. After several failed attempts, finally she was satisfied with her literary efforts and sent the mail.

After this unpleasant moment, she began to develop a work plan. She read with contempt the description of the procedure used to obtain the sample. The she thought to herself:

- Those chemists, they believe they know everything; I needed much more material than this.

Then looked around and smiled. She could use diffraction Resonance techniques to duplicate the crystalline structure, and since an experiment had been canceled, the equipment was available. Soon she would have all the necessary material and her mind began to imagine hundreds of possibilities to explore.

Suddenly the world seemed so be a better place. She was just 23 years, and this would lead her to the big leagues. Then a thought made her laugh aloud. When receiving the Nobel, her name Rosenthal would be called before Shugahara.

* * *

It was a small hotel room, one of those gaudy rooms, which are still found in many European cities.

At a small table, Dr. Shugahara was checking his emails, but he did not look like the sober doctor. Sitting in the room´s bed, Professor Sripathi was watching him with some concern. He knew, despite his tenacity, it was obvious tension was making a dent on the man. He knew the weight of responsibility that he had imposed on himself. As new discoveries were made almost every day along the world, the responsibility increased.

Like a chain reaction, one discovery had led to another, and then even more. Nevertheless, even more surprisingly, he had moved people and organizations around the world. In less peaceful times, he would have been a great general.

However, there was something more important that a simple war. The nature of what they were uncovering could be disastrous. From what he had told him, it was a source of power beyond measure. In addition, there was the lack of news on the whereabouts of Urd, who probably was the only one who could understand that power.

Suddenly Dr. Shugahara began to laugh. However, it was not his usual and gentle laugh that revealed his sense of humor, it was a laugh that has and hysterical overtone, as if he were about to lose control.

Professor Sripathi got up a little alarmed. He approached him from behind, but suddenly stopped. Reflected on the computer screen could see then man´s face streaked with tears. He didn´t knew what to do, He knew for Japanese to show his tears was very difficult affair and he did not wanted to bother him. However, he needed to help him; he knew Dr. Shugahara was not the kind of man used to share his burden.

He finally decided to act. He put his hand on the man shoulder, and focused his sight on the computer screen to avoid looking directly to his face, then tried to start a conversation to distract him.

-Looks like you got good news, or at least something unusual.

Dr. Shugahara was startled at the touch of his hand, and suddenly became aware that his laughter was not natural. He tensed his body and tried to regain control. Now he felt so embarrassed and cut his laugh in an unnatural way. Took a deep breath, and without turning to look at the professor, since he did not show his tears, commented:

- I want to apologize. I have driven you by half world on this crazy scheme of mine, I really never asked your opinion, and today I am not sure what would happen next.

- Please Dr. Shugahara, I would have not missed this for anything in the world. First, you gave me a mission I never dreamed of, to help you to protect a Devi. Now we are on a journey that will change everything we know of human history. I am who must thank you for this opportunity.

- Then you approve what we are doing? You were very frightened when we got the first crystal.

- Yes, I was afraid, the unknown always scare us, but then you explained me the crystal origin. In a way, the truth is much terrible, but is no longer something unknown. Then I thought, the people Mai-m-min, was about to disappear, you save them and brought relief to their lives. If they had disappeared, outsiders would have discovered the Hild´s tears. I do not dare to think what might have happened. You explained me how it can bring madness and unlimited power to human beings.

Dr. Shugahara sighted. Closed his eyes pondering the words of the professor. Slowly opened his eyes, but still fixed hi gaze on the screen and said:

- Yes, those crystals are dangerous. Somehow, humankind knew. Each one of the civilizations that had contact with them and suffered the ravages of their power, hide them as best they could. A group of faithful protected one crystal for millennia, other was in a cave hidden in a volcano, another in a pre-Hispanic pyramid, and there was other on under a block of granite over a thousand tons. There were one hid in a maze in hidden passageways in an Egyptian pyramid. I have begun to wonder if is not unwise to take them back to light.

- That is what has been worrying you? Do you realize that probably you are the first human to resist the power of the crystal? However, think about this. Eventually they would have been discovered. The curiosity of humankind has grown, and our technology as well. The passages of the pyramid of Meidum were discovered 10 years ago using optical fibers. Someday someone would get inside. They just were waiting to organize a proper expedition. The Mai-m-min people were on the verge of extinction. That cave in Mexico was about to be explored. I have concluded that we are actually avoiding a catastrophe. You were exposed to the power of the glass and did not succumb; I believe in destiny, I think you are the one that should take care of them. The power of your Devi can protect you. You told me that Urd, somehow is related to the crystals.

- I am no sure to be the right people, I was about to succumb to their power, had it not been for the memory of Urd. Yes, in a way she protected me. However, it is true; at least we understand why the glass is capable of driving men to madness. No human being has been able to pay the price to use that power. My anxiety is not whether these crystals are the solution. I will never dare to use them, but now I wonder if Urd can help me; we must take them out of the hands of humanity. I realized they are not the solution I was searching.

- So you feel you are back to square one.

- Yes, I think a lot about Urd. I do not know where she is, Belldandy assures me they have taken defensive measures, but I cannot help but be concerned. After reading Urd manuscript, I think i have an idea of how powerful the gods are, but also what are they weakness. In addition, one of their greater weaknesses is to stay on earth.

- How is that?

- There was a war, and they almost destroyed earth. For some reason, earth is very important for gods and demons so they agree on a system to avoid causing too much damage. They have to use power limiters to be able to stay on earth. Therefore, they are weaker on earth.

Professor Sripathi felt how he began to tense again, so decided to try to change the subject and distract him.

- You haven told my about the email you received, what is?

Dr. Shugahara. began to laugh again, but this time it was different, the previous talk had relived him, at least to allow his sense of humor to come back.

- Oh, is from a young and arrogant physics student...

The professor interrupted.

- Young, arrogant, and physics student? I always thought those three words were synonymous. Physicists are always reminding us from the "soft" sciences that only they have the keys to secrets of the universe.

Shugahara relaxed with these words and began to laugh. However, this time it was his usual laugh.

- True, but I also recognize that sometimes they are right. Do you remember what I told you about the special compound extracted from the Urth´s flower?

- I remembered you were excited about this compound, but I cannot understand its implications, that talk of higher dimensions sounds to me like modern magic.

- It is also out of my area, so I asked Dr. Yoichiro Nambu, from the physics department to take a look at it to study its properties. He was no easy to convince, but eventually he assigned the job to his best student. When this girl read my notes about the properties of the compound and found I am just an ordinary botanist, she wrote me a beautiful letter saying I was completely nuts.

- And that is what you found funny?

- I think that at her age I was just as arrogant. - He smiled, and began to relax - well, she made some experiments and seems she had to change her mind. This mail is her attempt to apologize, and then to pretend nothing happened. She also reminds about young Urth, she is so passionate about what she does. I really cannot take any offense from her. She even put a name to the compound. Despite her arrogance, she has a sense of humor.

- Because of the name she chose?

- Now, its official name is "dilithium crystal"...

- That name sound familiar - The professor thought for a moment, trying to remember where he had heard that before - Yes! I remember it. It is from an old science fiction series.

Both men began to laugh, partly because of the joke, but also because they realized they understood each other. Then Professor Sripathi was silent for a moment while he meditated and said:

- Dr. Shugahara, I think it is time you to return with Urd and her sisters. I have a bad feeling.

- But there is still much to do, I cannot leave now.

-Nonsense. I can handle it. We have developed the protocol to take care of Hild´s tears. We now they are dangerous, and since we have explained to archaeologist they have a kind of dangerous radiation, everyone seems to be happy we are taking care of them. After all, almost everywhere they are to be found there are dark legends about them. By now, there are only a few other places to explore, so i think you can leave. In addition, I have good news for you. The Somasindhu transfer has been approved. He will have to wait to then next semester at the Tokyo University, so I will ask him to help me. He is one of the few who can really understand what we are doing and he would do anything to help us.

Dr. Shugahara finally turned to see Professor Sripathi, his eyes were moistened again, but this time he was not ashamed to show it. He found difficult to accept he could inspire so much confidence in other people, yet the evidence was here. He got up and grateful, made an elegant bow and simply said:

- Thank you.

* * *

Walharen, third class demon, finally arrived at the central palace and stood before the vizier in charge of keeping the curious and petitioners outside from Hild´s view. Only the most insistent could reach her, but unfortunately for Walharen, his position in Nidhogg gave him some privileges.

A row of petitioners looked at him with hatred when access was granted immediately despite his low rank as third class, they did not knew he would have gladly given away that honor.

A guard escorted him to the room where the council meets and Hild used as office, but there was an unusual agitation in the air. Then, to his surprise, the guard did not let him stay in the room, instead took him to an anteroom. After interrogating the guard, he learned that perhaps there would be a council meeting. Walharen was surprised; there had been none in a long time. Hild seemed to dislike them.

Finally, the guard pointed to a seat and simply said - Wait here. - And left the place leaving it locked.

Walharen was relieved; his encounter with Hild seemed had been postponed. Unlike humans, gods and demons do not need to eat or drink, so he could wait all the time in the world. He sat and waited patiently.

* * *

The boy looked astonished at Skuld manipulations. Since they met, he had known she was special, not only he has seen displays of magical power, but also had seen the beautiful creature she called angel. However, he had never questioned or asked for explanations. For him it was enough to know that she was simply Skuld.

However, a couple of days ago, Keiichi, Skuld and her sisters had received him with a serious attitude. He had felt very nervous about being the center of their attention, but that was only the beginning of something much more special.

He still did not fully understand everything they had told him, but two things were clear. The three sisters were goddesses and a serious threat was hanging over the place. Everyone who was close to the goddesses would be in danger, and they had asked him to stay away from Skuld.

He had refused, if Skuld was in danger he did not want to get away like a coward. Fortunately, Keiichi had intervened. Keiichi was a mortal like himself and he thought he could help them. Despite the protests of the goddesses, they had finally decided that Sentaro-Kun could be of help and so he should learn about the temple defenses.

Now he was with Skuld, she was explaining to him the handling of various weapons, defenses and mechanisms that her mechanical genius had conceived. The girl had in her hand what appeared to be a crazy mix of toys and garbage yet, but Sentarō had seen it worked.

- ... And remember, the detonator should not be activated until shortly before firing...

Skuld stopped irritated because Sentarō was not reacting to her words.

- Sentarō, listens to me! Pay attention, this is important.

Skuld then stopped talking when she saw his wondering eyes and realized she was the cause of Sentarō distraction. She could not avoid blushing. Then the boy reacted nervously at being caught.

- Skuld, I´m sorry, but still seems incredible, you are a goddess! You are amazing! - Skuld felt uneasy, since she was only a second-class goddess

- Maybe I should have talk about this before, but I was not sure. I want to thank you; I think you are very brave.

- Skuld I would do anything for you, and I...

They looked at each other, but nervously turned the other way, there were words that were very difficult to say. Skuld had been moved when Sentarō had gone against her sisters, in order to stay with her. Anyone who dare to confront Urd, had to be considered brave. For a few moments they did not know what to say, so Sentarō tried to change the subject:

- Your sisters think we will be attacked by demons. Is there a war?

Skuld meditate for a moment, and replied in a serious tone that Sentarō had never heard.

- It is not exactly a war. Between gods and demons, there is an agreement. We will always be rivals, but it is not allowed to kill. There is a system to prevent it. There have always been struggles and rivalries. However, something happened. A goddess has been killed and we do not understand why. Seems there are demons who want to end up with the agreement. It is not a war, but a revolt.

- And is it true that the queen of demons is the Urd´s mother? - Asked Sentarō with shyness, he though Urd was very beautiful to be half demon. - Urd does not seem to be a bad person...

- She is not a Queen, is the Daimakaichō, the great demon leader. She is a terrible person, but I would not call her bad, at least as the humans understand it, the difference between gods and demons is much more complicated.

The boy scratched his head, it was easier to divide the world into good and bad, if the leader of the demons was not exactly bad, then what was it?

- But that does not matter, what matters is that our presence here on earth, irritates demons so they constantly try to expel us from here. Like Marler.

- Who is Marler? Is she bad? Does she hate you?

Skuld could not help laughing; Sentarō was trying to understand the world in a simple way.

- Urd and Marler have been friends since their childhood.

- What! Then why she attacks you?

- Because it is her duty as a demon.

- And then she is the one that is going to attack?

- No, Marler is dangerous, but she only seeks to expel us from the earth. However, seems there is a rebellion, in the past demons had tried to kill Urd and to overthrow her mother. This is something that I did not know. -Skuld then commented- It seems there is a lot about Urd I don´t know.

- All this is very complicated. Is it true that Urd flies on a broomstick? Do you fly on a broomstick, how is heaven? Would you teach me to fly?...

The child produced a barrage of questions, which Skuld was not fast enough to answer. Finally, she covered his mouth with her hand.

- Not so fast, you have so many questions! I am Goddess, not an information system.-

Sentarō stared to her with a contrite air, so Skuld began to laugh, then smiled to him and both began to laugh.

Skuld suddenly stopped, as if she had heard something. Sentarō gave her a puzzled look, he had not heard anything. Skuld ran to the main room followed by the boy, there she found her sisters and Keiichi.

- Belldandy, Did you feel it?

- Yes, something very powerful thing is not the way, the alarms worked. I think it would arrive at the rear of the temple and it´s more than one. Keiichi-san, Sentarō, please remember, both of you, try to stay within the boundaries of the house. The barrier I put will keep you safe. If you have to do something outside, get inside as soon as possible.

- Belldandy, you must also promise me to be careful.

Keiichi and Belldandy hold hands together and meet their eyes. Keiichi was able to see something different. Betraying the sweetness of her face, there was fire in her eyes. She was willing to do anything in order to protect Keiichi. She spoke with determination on her voice.

- Keiichi-san, I promise you, I will, but only if you stay safe.

Then from her handbag, she produced several discs of polished metal. They were small and filled with runes that emitted a soft glow. Even Keiichi could perceive they emanate powerful magic she offered them to Keiichi, who took them with some reverence. He knew a mortal had never been entrusted with something like this, and then put them in his pockets. Belldandy bowed to apologize

- Because of me, you have suffered things no other mortal had to endure, and now I am giving you more responsibilities.

- Belldandy, you know it is an honor to do all this for you. The goddess just nodded shyly and continued giving instructions

- Skuld, you should also try to stay inside. As a goddess, you can hold better and attack, but your magic is not strong enough to endure.

Skuld answered in a defiant tone.

- I have my mechanisms to protect me.

- Skuld, I know, and I count on them. Whoever expects comes, he will expect magic, not technology, and your mechanisms will give us an important advantage. - Skuld looked astonished at Belldandy for this unexpected recognition of her skills. - But remember, you must wait until the last minute to use them.

Meanwhile Urd had been observing from the other side of the room. Then she approached Belldandy and took her hands. Belldandy asked

- Urd, are you ready?

- Ready, also I have some surprises. - Urd laughed in a way that Keiichi felt his blood run cold, for a moment recalled the Hild´s laughter - Demons, like gods, do not take seriously my potions, since today they will.

Urd's eyes gleamed with a savage determination. The safety of her sisters was above everything.

-Keiichi, do you have the potions ready?

Keiichi nodded, he had a small metallic case with some curative potion: some for mortals, and some for gods.

Belldandy then went to the entrance, and approached Sentarō´s bicycle and Keiichi´s motorcycle. She leaned over them and touched them. She felt how those machines were filled by their owners care and love. She bowed to them. She could feel their kami. She called them, and pleaded.

- The lives of two people I loved may depend on you, I ask you to give your best effort.

Keiichi could not see anything, but he knew Belldandy could communicate even with inanimate things. Yet he felt a wave of feeling emanating from them. It was not the first time Belldandy invoked the spirit of a machine. Then Belldandy stood up and exclaimed:

- We are ready. We will welcome our visitors as goddesses.

Belldandy raised her arms and a light surrounded the three sisters. Her dresses were dissolved to be replaced by a dress Keiichi rarely had seen. It was their combat uniform.

The group then went to receive their visitors. They arrived in time, as they could see many portals opened at the same time. The violence of their appearance was testament to the power of the visitors. A shock came out of each portal destroying anything beneath them. The beautiful garden of the temple was being torn apart. The noise was terrible, and soon they could see the figures coming out of the portals.

Keiichi's heart shocked with terror at the sight. He hoped to see a couple of enemies, but instead it seemed to be a complete army of demons. A dozen of them wore uniforms, and behind them, there were others with strange ornaments that spoke of his high rank.

The high rank demons floated in the air. The guards fell to the ground and began to form. Keiichi impressed, commented:

- There are too many of them, who are they?

Urd spoke, there was tension in her voice, she knew enough of Hell and was able to recognize them.

-I never expected a threat at this level. They are Demons of very high rank. Those in front are guards, third class demons. We will have no problems with them despite their numbers, their weapons are designed to immobilize gods, but do not work well against mortals. In the wars, they´re task was to take prisoners and humiliate the fallen. But those in the back. They are tribunes and Shaikh. This seems to be a real rebellion against Hild.

- What are the Shaikh?

- The Shaikh is the next level after the Daimakaichō. The next Daimakaichō should come from their ranks. The tribunes have a lower rank.

- That sounds very bad.

- A Tribune is more powerful than a first class goddess. Only a Valkyrie would dare to face one of them.

- Then, the Shaikh…

- Do not think about it, you would not like to know. Just think of this. Even a Shaikh can be sealed. It is not the size of the body that counts; it's the size of the heart.

Keiichi looked at Urd; she just nodded to confirm his suspicions, and replied:

- Thanks Urd. I will remember it.

Keiichi gulped, he was afraid, but no matter, He took Belldandy´s hand, and at the touch decided to face any danger, no matter his fear. Belldandy trusted him and he would not disappoint her.

They waited for all their visitors to appear, and then Belldandy floated in the air followed by Urd. She headed to the one that appeared to be the most important, ignoring everyone else. She spoke without fear and with a cheerful and friendly tone, as greeting a group of tourists.

- Welcome, we were expecting you. If you come in peace, you will receive our hospitality.

For a moment, the demon let his surprise to be shown at this reception. He had expected to inspire surprise and fear, and here was this goddess, who seemed on the verge of offering him some tea as if he were just a late guest. Immediately brought to mind conspiracies and betrayals, but his course of action was already decided. He confronted the young goddess.

- In peace? There can be no peace between gods and demons.

He looked at Urd with a profound expression of contempt.

- Let alone with abominations like that.

Urd felt her blood boil, and had to make a great effort to restrain. She recalled Lind's words about thinking before acting. To face with a threat of this level, she could not risk a false step or that would be the end. She managed to restrain her anger and just answered.

- I remember you, Shaikh Anang-Reng. - She managed to put so much contempt on her words, Hild would have been proud. - You always have been so subservient to my mother. However, I did not imagine you were such a coward. You come with an army to defend against two goddesses?

Her words seemed to hit the target. Reng Anang shook with rage. Urd wondered if it was the right thing to provoke him. Nevertheless, she knew they would never survive an organized attack.

- Defend from you? You are nothing, you and you´re sisters are here just because Hild incompetence and her more incompetent assistant. We will teach Hild how things should be done. Guards get them.

Four guards floated toward the goddesses. They yield their weapons and something that looked like nets. Urd remembered them, among the demons, being caught in a net was a symbol of shame. Anang-Reng planned to display them as trophies.

She to see Belldandy and her smile, so far everything was fine. Then Belldandy smiled at Anang-Reng. Her jovial and serene expression impressed the demon, who had hoped cause fear. Then the goddess performed a gentle bow and then without ever looking at the approaching guards, made what appeared an elegant dance movement, she raise her left arm, traced a magic symbol in the air and pointed toward the guards.

- Elements of the earth and air, listen to my orders!

The sky darkened slightly and before the guards appeared a tape that seemed made of translucent wisps of clouds. They seemed harmless, but their sound was not. From them emanate the angry sound of the wind.

One of the guards foolishly tried to touch one of the strands and immediately his arm seemed to be sucked. He just screamed in surprise. At the same moment, the other ribbons wrapped the other guards with the strength of a hurricane. That is what they really were. Belldandy was making a display of power and control by confining four powerful hurricanes in just a few inches of space.

The she released them and the wind crashed violently the guards against the floor. Suddenly, Keiichi leaved the safety of the temple; the guards were immobilized by the raging wind. He approached one of the guards and put a disc on his chest. The wind did not touched him.

The guard barely screamed when a flash of light engulfed him, trapping him and then leaving it sealed in the disk interior. Soon four guards were sealed on the discs, and Keiichi quickly returned to the safety inside the temple. The other demons had been taken by surprise and could not react.

Anang Reng was stunned by this demonstration of control from the goddess. Belldandy smiled sweetly, as if she had not done any effort and said:

- I am the Belldandy, first class goddess and I declare you are not welcome. Your army has already suffered four casualties, but still we can avoid a major conflict.

The Shaikh's eyes narrowed with fury. She could be very powerful, but he and his allies were much more. So he shouted, pointing to two of the tribunes.

- Attack them. I do not mind the double system. Kill them if you need.

Then he pointed to the guards.

- You must go after the mortals, kill them.

Two of the tribunes separated from the group, Urd had been slightly away from Belldandy. Anang Reng, smiled, he thought she only wanted to get away from danger.

Belldandy she went to meet the tribunes, and then turned to see Anang-Reng, and gave him the most innocent of her smiles, and then she crossed her arms on her chest, and spread again with the elegance of a ballet movement. Immediately a strong and angry wind surrounds her. The wind grew spinning furiously and suddenly, just disappeared. The sudden decompression of air caused the condensation of moisture so a cloud appears and the goddess disappeared from view. The move came as a surprise to Shaikh.

-Why are you waiting? Attack her!- screamed Anang Reng

The two tribunes hesitated, then approached the cloud, but were no willing to enter; they had seen a demonstration of the goddess power. One of them cross his arms and invoked a curse. He throws a powerful beam of light into the cloud. The cloud expanded wrapping around them.

The other demon launched another beam, which dissipated the cloud. Belldandy had disappeared. Suddenly Reng Anang screamed a warning. Suddenly Belldandy and Urd appeared behind each of the tribunes, floating peacefully. Then, with the most delicate movement, they took a piece of paper, attached them to the tribunes on the exposed skin of their back, and floated away.

The demons were puzzled. What kind of attack was that? The goddesses were smiling to them. Suddenly one of the tribunes began to scream. His body was beginning to petrify, the other also began to scream, the other demons came to try to help them, but it was too late. They had completely transformed into rock and fell with a crash to the ground, where Keiichi was already waiting them to seal. The guards had been distracted with the cries from the tribunes, so Keiichi had an opportunity.

- What kind of magic is this? - Reng Anang exclaimed in amazement.

Urd floated toward the Shaikh, she was euphoric. She had never dreamed on beating a tribune, that was a remarkable achievement.

- Magic? - She laughed so naughty - It is just a bit of human technology mixed with magic. Something mortals call transdermal patch, useful when the victim does not want to drink a potion, instead it can go through the skin - She knew the scorn of demons upon the mortals. To suggest they had been defeated with the aid of human technology was humiliating. Then she dropped a piece of paper, and winked toward her sister.

Belldandy nodded, took her fingers upon her lips and blew gently. A soft wind took the paper toward Anang Reng.

- No! - He shouted, fleeing from the paper.

Urd laughed. The powerful Shaikh had fled form a piece of paper in front of his subordinates. It had been a great tactical trick, but they were still outnumbered. The situation was serious; she had to maintain the illusion of great power.

Then they heard screaming coming from the temple grounds. Several guards remembered their orders and had attempted to enter the temple. Urd smiled, the first trap had worked, and the containment field had done it´s work. The numerical advantage had diminished, but still they remained at a disadvantage. There were still three Shaikh, each one of them immeasurably more powerful than a first class goddess.

Belldandy turned to see Anang Reng, and with a quiet voice, told him:

- Shaikh Anang-Reng, it seems like you're running out of people. Still we can end this amicably.

All the demons turned to see Anang Reng; they had been told this would be simple.

Anang Reng, only gave a terrible cry and without warning and throw blinding beam of energy toward Belldandy. She barely had time to react, and put her physical barrier. That was the strongest defense from a goddess. Yet the impact was terrible. The Shaikh had shown that his power was almost at level with Hild; Belldandy knew she could not stand much more, but she knew she needed to resist.

At that time Urd was surrounded by the other two Shaikh. Urd decided to attack first, to get rid of them in order to help Belldandy. She remembered what had happened in the training camp, she could not risk to loss control. She invoked her powers. It was easier but needed to keep within her limits. Began to form a fiery incandescent sphere in front of her. The Shaikhs hesitated, a second-class goddess should not be able to generate such power, one of them recovered and began to invoke a counter spell, Urd recognized, it was a high-level spell, so decided to attack first, even if she was not ready.

At the ground level, Keiichi watched in horror as Anang-Reng attacked Belldandy, he could see the pain in her face, and he called Skuld.

- Skuld, Now, it's your turn. Sentarō, we have to distract the guards.

There we still had six guards, blocking the entrance. It was time for the boy to show his skills. He got on his bike, it was the model used for stunts, he pedaled furiously and went to a ramp that had been prepared, and he leap over the guards, some of then ran after the boy. Three guards were left behind, but Keiichi was ready, he had removed the Side Car of the motorcycle, he also knew how to do stunts.

- Skuld, are you ready? As we distracted them, you will have time to aim.

Keiichi turn on his motorcycle, which responded immediately, accelerated at full throttle, the front wheel was lifted like a spirited horse and set out to ram one of the guards.

This was something unknown to them, one of them ran and the other is move aside. Keiichi stopped and turned to check they were follow him, shouted and throw them on of the Skuld bombs, they were noisy artifacts. It angered them and ran after him. He smiled as Skuld prepared her machines and began to provoke the guards to distract them. Sentarō was doing the same.

Skuld left the temple with her android Bampei-kun. But he was unrecognizable. In his back there were several menacing tubes that look like missiles. The android moved outside the church, anchored his feet on the ground and under the orders of Skuld pointed at Anang-Reng, who continued his relentless attack against Belldandy.

Suddenly Anang-Reng was hit in the back and screamed. That was magic unknown to him. Due to his power Skuld missiles could hardly harm him, yet could cause him pain so he stopped his attack on Belldandy.

She was exhausted by the attack; her energies on earth were limited. She dissolved her shield and fall to the ground, but managed to stop her fall, just in time. She could not leave her sister alone with three Shaikh. She needed more energy she would have to break her limiters seals. So he began the complex spell that would remove them. While it was not the first time she had to do it, it was always a hard decision. It was strictly forbidden to remove and she could be banished from earth, but there were things at stake more important than a simple prohibition from heaven.

Meanwhile one of the demons that were attacking Urd was writhing in pain. His hands were blackened, apparently by Urd's attack, but he was far from being defeated, he was too powerful yet Urd had proven to be more than they expected.

On the ground, Skuld changed his target, and shot one Shaikh that as upon Urd. He cried in pain, but appeared to be more resilient to pain and reacted quickly. He turned to see his attacker and looked in disbelief at the girl down below, then reacted before the next attack from Banpei-Kun, he casted a spell to the earth and a column of rock rose creating a barrier to intercept other missiles.

Bampei-kun could not move, because it was anchored to the floor for more precision. So Skuld put the little robot on automatic mode to shoot as soon as any demon were on sight, then Skuld took another of her weapons an ran to have another view. She ran to get behind the column, but suddenly in front of her appeared the Shaikh who looked very surprised at this little goddess. Skuld looked at him defiantly, fearlessness she throw to him the grenades she was carrying. The grenades did impact, but the demon did not move, even though it seemed they caused pain.

Skuld soon was left out of ammunition. The demon realized and prepared to attack, but Skuld still was not defeated. She closed her eyes and concentrated; her angel emerged from her and floated to the remains of the temple pond. Skuld element was water, but her magic was still undeveloped. She searched from within all the strength she had, and finally succeeded in creating a powerful column of water that went to the demon. But he was a powerful Shaikh, he stood and just received the attack, then before Skuld reacted fired a powerful fiery bolt against her.

- Look out! - was the last thing Skuld heard before she felt an impact that throws her out of the bolts way. The lightning struck into the ground causing a crater. Skuld attempted to get up and then realized what happened. Sentarō had rammed her with his bike out of the way of the bolt. Her goddess body had withstood the impact, but now Sentarō lay unconscious on the floor. She screamed at the unconscious body and tried to help him without realizing that the Shaikh approached her and was preparing to launch another shot.

Skuld only saw a blinding flash and then the demon was thrown several meters away, then saw up to the sky and found her sister Urd, who with a fierce voice shouted:

- Nobody touches my sister!

But that distraction cost her dearly, Urd was hit by a powerful force that impacted her in the ground. The other Shaikh had recovered from the pain on his hands. He floated towards her to continue his attack.

Meanwhile Keiichi had just rammed a guard with his motorcycle guard; he jumped out of his machine to try to seal the guard. The guard was much stronger than expected, and grabbed him by one arm and threw him several meters away. Keiichi crashed into the ground and banged his head. The pain was unbearable but did no lose consciousness. He felt something wet, so he touched his head and felt the warm blood flow. He was stunned when the guard went to attack him, suddenly he saw something had appeared at the temple gates.

A bewildered figure had crossed the gate. Dr. Shugahara was stunned looking what was happening around him. Due to the Belldandy magic, nothing that happened in the temple area could be seen from the outside. To cross the gate had been like being transported to hell.

The doctor saw Sentarō lying unconscious on the ground while Skuld was trying to revive him. He saw Keiichi lying on the ground his head covered in blood, Urd writhing in pain and Belldandy floating on air, while two sinister figure were ready to attack.

His worst nightmares had become reality. The impact was so great he could not react. He barely heard Keiichi´s voice trying to warn him.

The demon that was about to attack Keiichi also saw the Doctor went to attack him. The surprised doctor managed to avoid him, his experience in expeditions saved him. Nevertheless, the ground was covered with rubble and he slipped, then the guard took something like a sword that glowed ominously, and lunged at him. However, he would not give up easily, instead of waiting the blow, he jumped to meet the demon and prepared for the worst, when a light glowed around him, and as if in slow motion, he saw as the weapon bounced off from the light. The guard had used all his strength against him, and fell back. The doctor then saw a battered Keiichi, running to help him. He saw how he pulled something from his pockets, and placed it on the guard. The creature disappeared in a flash...

- Doctor. Are you OK? What was that light?

- Keiichi what is going on here?

- We are under attack by several demons. They are much more powerful than Belldandy and Urd . We need help. A magical shield protected you. Where it did come from?

- A magical shield? - Dr. Shugahara attempt to focus, then recalled the package he was carrying.

Form the edge of the box, a light could be seen, then he realized. The medallion from Urth´s sisterhood. He opened the box, and they were glowing. She had created them to protect members of her sisterhood and her manuscript mentioned that they use and amplified the vital energies within each human being. But how to use them? He tool one and gave it to Keiichi. Maybe they acted before a magical power.

- Take this, maybe it can help, it was created for protection and I think we could...

Keiichi had taken the medallion; his face seemed transfixed, and to the doctors surprised, began to read the runes. The software implanted on his mind allowed reading the Yggdrasil writings. Then he read aloud the invocation that was written:

_- "Skarpt Gnesta world, _  
_world Skjöldr brest, _  
_koma í Hlif hjalmgagarr world._

_(The shaft will break, _  
_the shield will shatter,  
and the sword will be useless)_

At these words, the brightness of the three medallions increased, and around them, a magic barrier appeared.

- Yes, It is a magical shield! -

Then they heard Skuld cries. One of the guards tried to attack her while she defended the unconscious Sentarō. Skuld and its angel were using the water of the pond to stop him, but Skuld was losing strength. She would not hold him for long. Keiichi climbed back to his battered motorcycle, it started at the first try as if it remembered Belldandy´s pledge, Keiichi turned to the Doctor and throwed him a disk, saying: -Take it, you saw how to use it .

He went to attack the guard, while the Dr. was running behind him.

This demon was extremely strong. Seeing Keiichi´s approach prepared to receive the impact and with his powerful arms stopped the motorcycle. Keiichi then accelerated to the maximum, he did not mind if he destroyed his machine, the smell of burning rubber filled the air, yet it seem useless against the demon strength, so he applied the brakes. The demon then tried to grab Keiichi out of the motorcycle, and suddenly Keiichi accelerated to the maximum, the demon slipped and Keiichi step over it. The motorcycle advanced a few meters when the gears gave up. It fell down to the floor like a wounded animal. Keiichi step out of it ready to confront the demon. The demon tried to get up, but before succeeding Dr. Shugahara leaped over him and put the disk on him.

Keiichi saw how the demon was sealed, then kneel to touch his fallen machine and offered his gratitude, then ran to help Skuld. Keiichi came in time just to support her, she was about to faint. Her angel disappeared into her. Dr. Shugahara came immediately to take care of Sentarō. He began to react, slowly opened his eyes, but almost jumped when he to see the unconscious Skuld.

- Skuld, what happened to you? - He screamed, but Keiichi calmed him down.

-She is very tired, but she is not hurt.

-Dr. Shugahara, please take care of her.

- Sentarō, take this - and the Dr. gave him the third medallion. - It is a magic shield; it will help you to protect her. - The doctor looked around; trying to decide what was next. There was war in the sky, and another on the ground. Urd was again fighting in the sky. Keiichi pointed to the two remaining guards.

- We still have two guards to defeat. The medallions will make it easier.

The doctor looked at the demons that slowly approached them. Their attitude was cautious, as they had seen the other demons defeat.

Then Dr. Shugahara saw one of the weapon left behind by the demons and took it.

- What is this? The demons tried to attack me with this.

- It is a magic weapon; you can freeze a god with it but not a mortal, although I would not like to be beaten with it.

- Against a god? Will it help against a demon? – He said fiercely while he was pondering the weapon. It was heavy; it would not be useful for fencing.

Keiichi watch one of the demons, he seemed to be nervous at the sight of the doctor wielding the weapon - I think they are afraid. Seems it's our turn.

Meanwhile in the sky, Anang Reng, vented his anger against Belldandy. She was still protected with her physical barrier, helped by her angel, but her face was in pain.

So far Anang Reng had not used all his power. His plan had been to use the attack against the goddesses to provoke Hild and break the truce. He could not afford to waste his power; since he was planning to confront Hild. Nevertheless, the goddess was tenacious. Finally released a beam more powerful than the previous ones, and watched with satisfaction the breaking the barrier.

The impact made her cry in pain and then fell down. Anang Reng prepared to help the other two to finish with Urd...

Just a few seconds had passed and He heard a voice behind him.

- I am still not defeated - Belldandy rose slowly, her face showed pain, but also decision.

As she felt down, Belldandy had seen the bloody image of Keiichi and was horrified. Then realized that he was alive. But that image had brought her nightmares. She decided to give her life if that was necessary.

She rose again ready to face up Anang Reng. He saw with astonishment the defiant attitude of the battered goddess. Her uniform was torn, she had burns on various parts of the body, but her eyes were shining with the same intensity.

Furious, he released a burst of energy still more powerful. Belldandy received it and tried to block it. She could stand for a moment the tremendous punishment, but collapsed again and fell down.

Keiichi watched as she was falling to the ground, and screamed. He hesitated for a moment about what he had to do, he did not wanted to leave the Dr. alone, but he yelled.

- Go to help her, I'll take care of those demons. - And he headed straight at the guards.

Keiichi ran to get Belldandy, cried at her battered body, and hold her in his arms

- Belldandy!

The goddess slowly opened her eyes when she felt Keiichi´s arms and whispered - Keiichi, I have failed you

- Belldandy, this is not over yet, do not give up. We still have hope. Let's fight together.

Keiichi saw Anang-Reng approaching, he had decided not to give another chance to the goddess and had decided to end her life.

- You've been a great rival, but really never had a chance, now you will die along with that mortal. I do not care if a demon dies with you, his death will be an honorable.

Keiichi embraced Belldandy. He did not believe the medallion would stand much as it was supported on his meager mortal body, yet he was ready to try. He took the medallion with the other hand, recalling when he has supported Lind´s angel of Lind, and how it took out his energy. He was ready, he relaxed ready to give all he had. He closed his eyes and thought about the medallion, he was willing to give up his last drop of vital energy, if this could help Belldandy.

Anang-Reng raised his hands and began performing a deadly spell. The goddess was exhausted; he could take his time to accumulate energy for a final blow. Slowly spread his hands and with a furious cry came a blinding light from his hands.

Keiichi gasped, but the medallion did not yield, yet he felt how quickly it was taking out his energy. He held tighter Belldandy body. At the pressure she opened her eyes and saw a field of energy holding the attack. And then she felt the energy was being extracted from Keiichi.

She could not leave him alone, so she summoned his last bits of energy and hold Keiichi tightly. She joined her physical barrier to Keiichi´s shield. They joined their forces in such a way that it was stronger than the sum of their parts.

Reng Anang could not understand what happened, that energy blast should have finished them, but they were resisting. But he was still using only a fraction of his power, so he began to increase it.

On the ground. The doctor had wielded the arm and started to make some exercises that his father had taught as a child to assess their weapons. His fencing was a very basic, but in the eyes of the two remaining demons that had seen the defeat of other demons, it seemed that he knew what he was doing. Then he walk briskly toward them, screamed and lunged toward them. He strike down with the weapon ... and it fell on empty space. Turning around and could not see sign of them. Then he saw one of the portals was shut down. They had fled!

He stood with his mouth open. Dropped the weapon, and then started laughing. Keiichi, Skuld and Sentarō and filled them with fear ... But his laughter was short-lived, in the sky Urd was also about to fall.

The Bampei-Kun, little droid had fulfilled his mission, with its missiles. He shoot them with great precision, and had prevented the two Shaikh to attacked simultaneously Urd, but he had run out of weapons and now demons were joining forces.

Urd was between of them. Her body looked like a glowing object. She had managed to contain a plasma field around her, which she used as a shield and as weapon. With accuracy rivaling that of her sister, she made the plasma generated igneous spears that attacked the demons, but she was weakening. She was descending to the ground, while the two Shaikh threw volley after volley.

The doctors almost screamed when he was able see the burns covering her body, but she did not let her pain to show. Her eyes were like glowing coals.

Dr. Shugahara then saw Belldandy and Keiichi, who were resisting the attack of Anang Reng. Then decided what he needed to do.

He took a little case that hung from his neck. It was not the golden idol from the Mai-m-min, but a modern alloy of tantalum, tungsten and thorium, they were an effective block for the emanations of Hild´s tear. Now it was time to use it and he was willing to pay the price.

He released the lock and opened the case. It now shone fiercely, as if it responded to the large amount of magic in the air. Again, he felt how the crystal was trying to invade his mind, but this time he was better prepared. He closed his eyes and concentrated on a single thought. He now knew what the crystal wanted. He did not fight back; he opened his mind and accepted the crystal. IT reacted like a living being. He now knew it was not madness, but a thought trying to communicate through millions of years of evolution. An ancient race and a young one. His body began to shake violently and suddenly everything went black. He could not see anything, his senses have been blocked. Suddenly heard a voice in his brain, a voice which spoke without words. A voice without conscience, yet with intelligence.

- "Link established"

I was not a word, but a pure though, a though as pure as a geometric figure, devoid of all emotion and conscience, it was pure logic, cold and inhuman. Then, just an idea.

- Question? -

I was not a word; it was so pure that burn into his brain as a laser. Finally, he understood, it was asking what he wanted. He was not sure how to communicate his primitive thoughts. He recalled the image of Urd, fighting, suffering, and her power diminishing. The crystal sucked those images from his brain like a sponge. In addition, everything was light. He knew there was only light in his brain. He realized he perceived the world through the crystal. He saw Urd and the demons, but it was a vision beyond his imagination, because he saw the true essence of the goddess. Her ten dimensional being, her inner code, and her goddess hearth, slowly losing power. He also saw the demons, and a measure of her power. Suddenly all went black and the crystal offered information. Cold and precise.

- Subject cannot handle more power. Power blocked with Level 9 encryption, Daimakaichō's personal code. Solution: Remove blockage. Command?

Shugahara could not understand the information, it did not make any sense, yet it seemed there was a solution. Yet he could not tolerate that cold logic peering into his brain. Now he could understand why everyone went mad. If there was a solution, she would take, so tried to send just one though.

-Proceed!

Instantly the crystal left his mind, his senses returned to the ongoing battle. All this had been just a fraction of seconds. The he saw Urd collapsing into the ground and whittle in pain. A soft glow from the crystal in his hand rose and surrounded Urd. She was so tired and wounded, she could not perceive it, yet she screamed at the contact. The doctor ran to hold Urd, while the demons descend to the ground. They lost a few a seconds, while they saw with curiosity this new mortal, who was trying to help the goddess. Then they proceeded with their attack.

Urd´s body began to shake, the doctor was sure it was the crystal doing something.

Urd was barely conscious, she knew her power had almost gone, and she had failed to weaken the Shaikh, their power was too great, yet she would try to resist. She had felt Shugahara's presence; she would not allow he would be harmed.

Then, she felt as if a gate would have burst inside. Her exhaustion disappeared. The unexpected flow of power seemed to drive her crazy. Her body began to fill with anger. How could these two pitiful creatures dare to face Urd, the daughter of the great Daimakaichō? She was now drunk with power and began to laugh. It was a laugh that the two Shaikh recognized and feared.

Urd then felt something around her, something warm, soothing, comforting... What was it?

She tried to fight it, she didn´t like it. It could make her weak, yet... it was so soothing, so warm. Then heard a voice.

- Urd, can you recognize me? I am Kenji, please listen to me!

Urd felt that voice was like fresh air around her. She had the feeling mist was clearing. She put her hand on her chest and touched Kenji´s hand. He has holding her. She breathed deeply to clear her mind, and remembered where she was. It was like waking from a dream. Then became aware about the two demons that were attacking her. But the attack did not touch her. A magical shield surrounded her. A magical shield that emanate from Kenji´s aura. Somehow, he was protecting her. She felt a deep surge of emotion, the two Shaikh were trying to harm the man she loved.

She felt anger again, but this time she kept her control. Instead, she used the emotion to drive her powerful mind and began to assess the situation. She felt a new power inside her, but did not know it was enough to defeat two Shaikh. She could not risk underestimating them. So decided to give all her power in a single blow and hope it would be decisive.

The she felt Kenji´s pain as energy was extracted from him. But then heard his voice. - Urd, take all the time you need. I will hold until then. Urd realized Kenji trust her, and she could trust him. Then began making a slow and powerful spell to build energy. The two demons saw the spell and increased their attack, but the magic shield form the medallion absorbed more vital energy form Kenji and absorbed the attack.

Urd finally knew she was ready. Everything around her shone, her energy seemed boundless, but she knew could not hold control. She felt the warmth of Kenji´s body and remembered his trust. Unlike Fafnir, he would live, no matter what. She let the energy con concentrate a bit more and then release it against the demons.

The energy released was so bright that nothing could be seen. It was the purest white, a painful white like the core of a star, she felt the earth tremble, then heard shouting, screaming and more screaming, but the noise was so loud she could not recognize who was screaming.

Gradually the noise faded. Also the light began to fade but now everything went black, and now as every bit of energy from her body had been released, Urd finally fainted.

**End of Chapter XIV-rev1.2**

* * *

Notes:

- "_Of many births the Norns must be_"**: **Taken form the Eda**. **I changed a few words.

- "_Skarpt Gnesta world_" fragment from the poem _Darraðarljóð_. Stanzas 2-4 . I took certain poetic liberties.

- "Hidden passages in the pyramids": I am referring to the hidden passages in the Meidum pyramid. They were discovered using fiber optics technology, but since nothing important was detected, they have not been opened.


	15. Chapter 15: Conflict in Hell

**Warning:**

** I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story.**

* * *

**The order of the Knights Mortal**

**By Javier Delgado R.**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

**Chapter XV**

**Conflict in Hell  
**

The stifling atmosphere was full of poisonous gases. Dark clouds partially hide a reddish sun. The heat was unbearable; the floor was cover by lava recently solidified. In some places, semi-liquid and incandescent material could be seen. A scorching wind blew causing violent eddies, yet they were not enough to clear the field of view. Suddenly it started raining, but it was not water, but tiny spheres of melted black glass. Mortals called them tears of Peele. This was a hellish place and there could be no life.

Suddenly a bright beam of light grow amid the clouds, it came from a crack in the fabric of space. The emanating energy cleared the clouds for a few seconds while the dimensional portal took shape. From inside, several figures appeared in combat uniform. They were Valkyries led by Lind. At the sight of this hell, they could not avoid a surprise exclamation. Lind was the first to speak.

- Are these the proper coordinates? This cannot be earth, it´s like our training headquarters.

- There is no possibility of error - Said one of them, she had a display floating in front of her and was checking the information, then slowly realizing the implications exclaimed - There is only one explanation, there was a huge combat here.

Lind rose in the air and tried to see at the distance but the cloud blocked their efforts, then gave an order

- Disperse and look for survivors. You two. Try to define the area of damage, we must contain and isolate the area, will be very difficult to hide this from mortal. We cannot allow further damage.

Another of the Valkyries, a young recruit named Chrono, exclaimed in a voice broken by the emotion:

- Looks like we are late, the destruction is total. There seems to be no survivors.

Lind looked at her with a gleam of anger in her eyes

- Do not waste time. Look for signs of life, fast!

The squad split, one of them cried in the distance:

- There is too much free magical energy in the environment; we cannot discern the signs of life.-

Another one, which had risen to assess the damage, descended to report.

- This area is contained by a magical shield. It is very powerful and complex. I do not think the damage has spread far.

Lind felt a temporary relief, at least the damage was contained and commented

- It must be the work of Belldandy, few gods would be able to something like that. We must find her!.

Another cry was heard:

- I detect something in this direction, but it´s very weak. I cannot tell what it is, but seems is dying, the energy is weak and intermittent - Lind flew in that direction and gave a sharp order.

- All of you form a shield in that area to isolate it from the environment. Extract the excess of heat to human levels. Othala, you are the healer. Do what is necessary.

The Valkyries had surrounded an area and formed a protective shield to isolate if from the heat. Then joined their magic to protect the area, and to be able to cool the interior.

Even the seasoned warrior could not avoid a cry of horror when they finally distinguished the bodies. The overall shape of the body was barely recognizable; the skin looked like charred parchment, and from its many cracks came a strange light that seemed alive. Then Ghadril her second in command reported:

- Two unidentified bodies extremely damaged, the regenerating code that gives shape to their body is overloaded. The container field is broken, their vital energy slowly leaks. Their heart seems still intact, but it cannot regenerate the external shape so it´s internal energy soon will dissipate, and its essence will dissolve. If we act soon, maybe we could curb the loss. I´ll do my best to seal the loss.

Lind felt her heart shrank. They could be Belldandy and Urd. They appeared to be adult bodies, perhaps they could save them, but no mortal body could exist under such conditions. The mortal to who had sworn eternal friendship, Keiichi, simply should have been vaporized in this inferno. The bodies were unrecognizable. The energy required to damage a god to such state was unimaginable. It was difficult to understand how they had managed to be alive.

Lind closed her fists in anger. Those guilty of this act should be punished and this time she would not wait to receive orders... She had requested permission come so earth as soon as she detected the conflict, but it had taken too much time and this had been the result. For the first time in her life, Lind felt anger against the organization she had sworn to protect.

Then, her thoughts were interrupted by a surprised cry from Othala.

* * *

The large council hall was full; it had been at least one million Earth years the last time it happened. The sumptuous room was fully illuminated and the light stood out it´s opulence. There was no doubt that this place was the seat of power of this multiverse. However, the chaos in the hall did not speak about power; currently no one occupied their assigned places. The formed into small groups, constantly moving in order to exchange information as everyone tried to understand what was happening.

The ornaments wore by demons, indicated that most of them were of very high ranks. In addition there were others who were not members of the council, they were low-ranking demons and were grouped suspiciously around Anang-Reng allies.

A low murmur like a nest full of angry insects was heard. Of all these demons, regardless of age and ranks, were arguing but few knew exactly what had happened, the rumors were too many, but it was suspected that the outcome of this meeting could be war.

That time seems to pass without any incidents, only increased the general irritation. Hild had not issue any announcement, and the Shaikh Anang-Reng, who had requested the meeting failed to appear.

However, the murmur of angry voices could not pass the doors of the hall where Hild was in her throne. Many holographic screens floated around her, some showed the turmoil in the hall, but she paid them little attention. Her attention was focused on the displays of information reporting activity in the world of mortals. However, the display she was interested only showed interference. This time her face was altered. Despite trying to appear unmoved, there was concern on her face.

If the rumors were true, Anang-Reng had broken the truce and attacked the Norns. However, she could not confirm it. She felt her heart shrink. Urd, what would have happened to her? She had sent her to Heaven to protect her life and still she was her only heir, even if he had chosen to become a goddess. However, she could not get any information. There was powerful magic blocking the view of the temple and Nidhogg had reported huge amounts of energy released in the mortal world. Only a large-scale attack could release such levels of energy Hild could not help thinking that the warnings of the son of his enemy had been met.

What would happen now? The truce had been broken. To avoid war would mean she would have to swallow her pride before the gods and that could meant to lose her place and the return to war could mean the end of their world. Something that nobody else seemed to understand. Soon Anang-Reng would ask for a trial of power to challenge her authority and this time, there was no way to refuse. She could not pass this action without punishment, but due to his high rank, he could request a challenge instead.

However, there was no way she could stand the challenge. The reality is that she was weak, had managed to hide for years. To avoid challenges she had instigate fear to her person and so far had been successful. Nobody had dared to challenge her.

Now everything was different. She was sure Anang-Reng was more powerful than she was. Not even Marler knew she had tweaked all her energy readings using her high-level access to **Nidhogg.**

A feeling slowly began to invade Hild. It was a feeling she had known only was, on her first and so far her only defeat, it was fear. She took some time to realize what that feeling was and when she did it only increased her anger and frustration. She could not afford to have such feeling. Instead, anger and hatred were more useful. She uttered a cry of outrage that echoed through the room, the she felt relieved and began to calm down.

The she felt a presence behind her, did not need to turn to see who it was.

- Marler!, you have finally arrived. Are you also going to leave me? - She actually felt relieved by her presence, but millennial of trying to be self-sufficient prevented her from admitting it. Marler shuddered at hearing her accusation.

- Hild-Sama, I will never forsake you and that is why I have dared to disobey your orders.

Hild's eyes burned with rage, and slowly turned around to face Marler. She was surprised at what she saw. There was fire in Marler´s eyes; it would take courage to admit that she had disobeyed direct orders from the great Daimakaichō.

Hild-Sama. I was sure something like this could happen, so I have been in touch with Anang-Reh´s people. Now I have asked them to come.

Marler closed her eyes, waiting to feel the wrath of Hild, but strangely never came. She opened his eyes slowly, Hild´s anger had been replaced by a strange expression she had never seen. She seemed sad and tired. Hild spoke slowly in a voice that could not decipher:

- Marler! How dare you? Do you want to see surrounded by enemies? I am sure Anang-Reng would challenge my, and from this trial would depend on the survival of our world.

Marler came and knelt before her mistress, her gaze fixed on the floor, but this time there was no trace of fear in her voice.

- I also can worry about our world. That is why I called them. I know the secret of Hild-Sama and I know that there is no other option. They will arrive soon.

As if they were waiting for her call, several lights began to appear and inside them, various demons began to materialize, they were of all sexes and ages, but most were young. As they arrived, they took a place in front of Hild and put a knee to the floor to express respect, but only a few showed fear on their eyes. They looked at her directly. Soon there were fifty of them.

Hild was struck by their number, were all this demons really willing to help her? Still she was sure their presence was useless and with barely contained fury, she said: - Even if were many times more, you cannot help. I will have to fight my next battle alone; you will not be useful to me.

One of them spoke. He spoke proudly; still his marks showed he was not even a tribune.

Hild-Sama. We are here to help you. We ask you to let us be your allies.

Hild could not help laughing at this insolence. None of you had the power of a tribune and I am sure you will not offer your help without a price.

- And what is the price you would ask for your help?

- Compared to what we offer the price that seems small and insignificant. We ask you to listen, to hear our opinion. We want the same thing as you, we do not want war, but we do not agree with your methods.

Hild answered with an ironic tone that was even more terrible than her anger.

- And how do you plan to help? You cannot go with me to the council hall. It would be interpreted as declaration of war to the council. Even more, the trial will be a duel between two. Only two. Even if I were to accept his terms, your offer is useless

The young demon stood silently, pondering her words. They had arrived as soon as Marler has called them, and they had no adequate answer to her question. Suddenly from the shadows at one side of the chamber, a voice was heard, timid and fearful.

- Hild-Sama. There is a way.

The impact of those timid words cut all to a complete silence. All tried to see the owner of that words.

Sitting in the darkness there was a low-ranking demon. Hild extended her hand and without saying a word, drew the demon with a violence that would have killed a mortal.

The terrified demon fell at her feet, and then made no attempt to move, to avoid increasing the fury of Daimakaichō.

Who are you?

- I am Walharen, third class demon and deputy administrator at Nidhogg. I asked an audience with Hild-Sama, but I was ordered to wait here.

- Hild squinted to see in more detail that low demon. She smiled when she perceived his fear. This was someone who would not dare to lie.

- How long have you been watching?

The demon was shocked by the accusation. After all he had seen enter Hild to the hall, but after witnessing her mood, he had not dared to call attention to his presence. Now he was trapped.

- Mi ... Mil, milady. I have been here 6 cycles waiting for your attention, my supervisor sent me, but I figured you did not want to be bothered by my report.

- Report? Ah, yes, I remember. Your supervisor said you had the strange belief that **Nidhogg** is under attack. I have never heard anything more ridiculous.

Walharen swallowed; apparently, his superior had submitted a negative report about his suspicions.

- Milady, it does not matter now. I think there is way to solve your problem.

Hild, asked angrily.

- My problem! How much have you heard?

Walharen trembled, but now he knew he had a chance to get away if he could make good use of his knowledge. He dared to lift his face and saw the curious look of half a hundred demons, most of them of higher status than him. He struggled to control his fear and kept talking.

- As deputy administrator at **Nidhogg,** I have access to information that does not have anyone else in this world. - He hesitated, not sure if everyone here should listen to what he was about to say. - A long time ago, I realized someone had accessed the system to alter the mechanisms monitoring the energy use Hild-sama. It was a very high-level access, only one person can get access to this level. That person should have been better using a lower level account and some subterfuge to avoid leaving a trail ...- He heard a murmur of surprise, he had dared to criticize Hild in public, and he was earning the wrath of Hild. Driven by his enthusiasm, he had dared to criticize Hild ...- I though... I thought it was a matter of high level secre... security, so I deleted the logs and all traces of the disturbance-

Hild squinted, this demon knew too much, approached him and forced him to look at her and whispered inaudibly to the other demons:

-Did you saw the real energy values?

Walharen trembled, but he knew that lying would be suicidal, just issued an almost inaudible.

- Yes milady - then spoke a bit louder - Soon after, some council members requested that information. They were surprised by the reported values. They ordered me to forget everything, but I could not do it. I know they want to return to the days of war. Since then I start to run some simulations for possible solutions.

- So, it was you who deleted the logs access. I should have guessed it. I check later and found not traces of it. Only someone with deep knowledge of **Nidhogg** could have done it. I also assume those simulations were not authorized.

- No, milady. My superior would have not approved them.

Hild could hardly repress an exclamation of surprise. A third class demon had become an unexpected ally.

- Well done and you will be rewarded. - Walharen breathed again, yet still he needed to put forward his plan.

- Milady Hild, there is something else- then he whispered- I know your real power level and I know you cannot defeat Anang-Reng. However, there is a solution. It is extremely dangerous- He pointed to the demons who were trying to follow their exchange - They can help you, but you must trust each other, because all of you will be in danger, but I think it is the only way.

There was a murmur around them. The demons rose slowly and began to surround Walharen, they seem eager to hear his solution. The words of the young demon have made an impact on Hild. Now she felt a new and overwhelming feeling, but this time it was something completely alien to her. Did not even know its name, after eons of cool plans, ruthless actions and subterfuge, ´she had forgotten that feeling called "hope". Then she realize how strange was all this. She was surrounded by demons who had no fear of her, and for some strange reason, were on her side. At any other time this lack of fear and such insolent curiosity would have been punished, but now, Hild-Sama had more important priorities, like survival. She rose again to her throne, and then told the young man with such a sweet voice that sent a chill unto him:

- Let´s hear your plan.

The demon began to explain his idea. It was simple but technically complex. Yes, this young demon was brilliant. Strange that it was only a lowly third-class demon.

Hild contemplate his trembling from and began to laugh. It seemed so ridiculous that the fate of the universe could rely on a small third-class demon. Then turned around, she had forgotten the other demons. They looked at her expectantly. All of them were already in the secret; they knew that she needed them.

She saw that her sudden laughter had caused fear on several of them. That made her laughs with more intensity. She found comforting her laughter could still instill fear. Not everything was lost.

* * *

Lind reacted to the cry of the healer, and quickly flew to her side. She was observing the bodies with surprise.

- Is there a problem?

- These are not gods but demons. High-level demons, but cannot identify them. What kind of power could cause this damage? This is not the work of a first level goddess.

- Can they be saved? Remember the doublet system. The life of two gods is at stake.

The healer looked around and remarked- It must have been a magnificent battle. - Ominously, she smiled, thinking that those bodies were of their hated enemies and not of goddesses. - In ancient times, you would have requested to give them a merciful death. Lind, I think you have gone soft. However, I have the consolation that trying to save their lives will bring them much suffering. That comforts me. Especially if they have done harm to the Norns.

- Save them! - curtly ordered Lind- that is an order. - The she thought about it- Would not it be easier to seal them and send them to heaven?

- Impossible, they are too weak; they would not survive the travel through the portal. I will fulfill your order, neither I want to be responsible for the deaths of some of us, but I think those were simpler times.

Lind watched, as the healer was concentrated in the bodies. Despite her harsh words, she was obviously doing her best, but her words still rang. Yes, maybe she was softening. However, he had seen too many battles and their consequences. Having a dying friend on her arms was not an experience she wanted to relive. Then she thought about the goddesses. If these were the attackers. Where were the Norns? Could Keiichi have survived? There must be something else she could do. She saw a young Valkyrie, previously she had worked at Yggdrasil, and maybe she could use that.

- Chrono. You know the working of Yggdrasil. This place is full of magic without control; we cannot distinguish the tracks energy of the Norn. Can we do something?

Valkyrie thought for a moment, while she stared at the desolation around them, she had also met the people who lived there and felt the pain. Suddenly her face brightened.

- I think we can do it, they have long been living on earth and so far, they must have absorbed energy from here. We can try to locate it, is very weak, but its spectrum is very different from our magic, I think I can distinguish between the two of them.

- Proceed!

The Valkyrie extended her hands in the air, concentrated, and generated a series of information screens in the air. She still had her access to the great supercomputer system. Then began to create a sub-program to filter noise signals and detect only local sources. He had long attended Peorth and Urd so she had learned some very unorthodox techniques. Gradually the in one of the displays, the noise began to disappear and some signals began to stand out. She signaled to Lind, there was something in the display.

- Madam, I see something strange here. There are three sources of energy, but they are stronger than I expected. I do not recognize their signature of energy, seems to be neither gods nor demons.

Lind approached the display and looked at the strange information. Her heart raced, that energy was familiar but was not sure from where. She searched on her memories, suddenly realized that it was not a memory from her but from one of her angels, and then exclaimed:

- That energy comes from a mortal.

- Impossible! They cannot generate those levels.

-Some humans can. I have been witness. My angel was supported once by the energy from a mortal. I can recognize it. - She called the other Valkyries to see the display and issue her orders. - Quickly find those sources. And...

Chrono interrupted her by pointing to her back.

- Look overt there, among the clouds, there is something, the atmosphere is clearing.

Lind turned and saw a shadow behind the fumes, she could recognize it. It was the temple. The building seemed to be intact, Belldandy's magic inspire more and more respect on her. There still was hope of finding Keiichi alive. She felt moist on her eyes. It definitely she was softening. She turned around to avoid her Valkyries noticed them, but one of them began to call her.

- Look here. There is a barrier, it resembles the physical barrier of a goddess, but it´s energy is different. It´s blocking the entire visible spectrum. Surely, it was modified to block all types of harmful radiation.

- Do not touch that field, I think there is a mortal inside, and it will die if the field collapses in this atmosphere. Try to levitate it and move to the temple, I think the protective field will let us enter the building without any problems.

Lind appeared her battle-ax, and the others followed her example. As gently as possible they directed their energy to the physical barrier, trying not to collapse it, they did not know how stable it might be. The barrier went up and saw it´s semi-spherical shape. Lind could imagine it was a dark cocoon that had a promise of life inside. At first, the field seemed to reject their magic, but then as if it recognize its origin, stopped resisting and let it move.

As Lind predicted, the temple barrier let them in. In the interior of the temple, the field began to dissolve, as if recognizing that there was no threat. Then they saw two intertwined bodies.

- Keiichi! Belldandy! - They seemed wounded and their bodies looked lifeless . Keiichi had blood on the head, Belldandy showed large burns on her body where her divine code seemed trying to escape. Keiichi still held tightly in his hand an object that looked like an amulet. Lind came to touch them; this time could not hide her tears. In the past, she had stoically accepted the death of her fellow combatants, but these two were not warriors. They were people to whom she felt bound by other ties. Gently touched their faces to feel their energy. They were still alive!

- Quick, take them inside, call the healer, she has a new priority.

Other Valkyries were levitating the other cocoons. Lind approached one of them and watched it carefully as it dissolved. She found Urd and an unknown mortal who also held an amulet similar to the one that Keiichi had. Urd also had deep burns, the human did not seem injured but was in a deep coma. His vital energy seemed to run out.

The third cocoon arrived. Inside they found Skuld and a human child. They did not seem badly injured, but were under a deep coma. Their vital energies were also in a very low point.

They were taken inside the temple meanwhile the healer came to report.

- I managed to stabilize the demons. They are not completely out of danger, but will be enough until reinforcements arrive. I decide to call more healers. I am not a specialist in demons.

- You have done well, but I hope you know something about mortal. We have three mortal, only one of them seem to have injuries, yet their vital energy seems on the verge to run out.

* * *

It was a starry sky but it seemed surreal. The absence of air prevented the twinkling of the stars, so they seemed strangely still. I was a very dark sky, populated only by a few stars. Most of the suns of this universe had died before they could be stabilized.

Below was what looked like a giant valley, but in this world without no air or rain, erosion was not the cause of this geology. Rivers of petrified rock were witnesses of the energy that had generate this huge scar.

At both ends of the valley appeared two dimensional gates, where two figures emerged. They looked tiny at the scale of this place. However, their power was not. Slowly they floated to the ground.

One of the figures was Hild. Before her rival could react, she lifted her arms and her body became incandescent. A brief, blinding flash came out of her hands to hit Anang-Reng.

However, he reacted immediately. He raised his hand and extended the palm. The flash slammed his hand and energy bounced in all directions. The nearby rock swells with the deflected energy and became incandescent. He was waiting that attack. For millennial, he had studied his opponent and had prepared for this day.

Hild greeted her opponent with a smile of approval. That attack had served against more than half of her rivals. Suddenly, two huge columns of rock grow out of the ground, and collapsed bringing down tons of rock on top of her. However, she was not there. He had observed how Anang-Reng had hidden his other hand to cast this spell.

This time Anang-Reng greet her, after all, this was just a warm up. Soon the real battle would begin.

Soon this world, called Dysnomia, or conflict, began to be filled with fires that had not be seen since its formation. The total absence of sound, due to the absence of air gave an unreal air to battle. The mere light emanating from that conflict would have vaporized a human.

The exchange of energy and powerful magic soon turned a large part of the surface into a sea of lava, gradually the gases from the lava began to form an atmosphere and sound began to exist. A sound that was an echo of tectonic energies that were already shaking the entire planet.

* * *

The temple was full of activity. Ghadril had given orders to the squad of Valkyries, who faced and old enemy: death, but this they were not using weapons.

Urd and Belldandy were so weak they were in danger of dissolving and thereby lose forever their code. Some of the Valkyries concentrated their energies to generate a container field. Skuld did not seem in imminent danger, but her condition was delicate. Ghadril was trying to break the coma in which they were mortals were, but she did not know how to restore their vital energy.

Lind looked her squad activity feeling useless. What else could she do? For some reason the healing experts who had been requested were taking too much time to come to earth, and there were no explanations. Something was happening in the high council.

She approached the human children, who seemed to be the one in better shape. He was so young, yet he seemed to have fought. There were lacerations and scrapes on his skin. Lind thought, at least those she could heal. She put her hand on his forehead and then retired in surprise. She had sensed something strange. She put her hand again on him and felt a strange flow. She moved her hand around the child's body and felt a strange sensation. Then called Chrono.

- Chrono, can you apply the analysis software in the room? I sense a strange energy, but cannot not locate its source.

- Yes, madam. Right away. - Chrono activated again the screens, this time she included a routine of augmented reality to extend the information directly into the room.

Now they could see a strange phenomenon. Thin threads of energy seemed to surround the child's body. They were faint, but looking carefully, they could see these threads seem to come from the ground.

- Chrono. What is that energy? Can you determine its origin?

The young Valkyrie began frantically to manipulate the screens and finally exclaimed in amazement.

- It is vital energy from the planet. It is life force emanating from Gaia. I tough it was just a hypothesis mixed with legends. It´s energy supports all life on this planet, but it should not interact with humans in that way. To Gaia, humans are just another form of life and yet it seems she wants to feed them...

- I think these are not ordinary human beings. Watch their auras. They are completely different from any human being I have seen. I tough Keiichi was unique in that sense, but I see here another two similar humans. I do not know what this could mean.

Then they hear the child began to breathe more deeply. His breathing began to accelerate, and his lifeless body began to regain life. His eyelids twitched a little and slowly opened his eyes. For a moment his eyes looked to the ceiling with no expression, then his face twitched and then with a sleepy voice boy said.

- I am hungry! - Then attempted to get up but was very weak, and even seemed he was not completely awaken. Lind rushed to help him up. Still with a dreamy voice, the child reacted to her touch, and said:

- Mom, I had a strange dream, and ..- He turned and saw Lind and stopped at the sight of an unfamiliar face.

Who are you? - He turned around while he became fully awake. Where am I? I remember being with Skuld and then she ... - The children gasped as his memories came - Skuld! Where is she? - He tried to get up but his body did not obey him. Then Lind with a tenderness that surprised her colleagues took the child in her arms and took him where Skuld was still unconscious.

- She is very weak, but she is not in immediate danger. - We are looking after her. Do not try to move you are still very weak; you were on the verge of death. First we need you explain us what has happened here - Lind called the healer.

- Othala, what happens to him, his vital energy seems to be almost restored, but he is still very weak.

The healer touched the forehead of the boy, who looked in amazement at all these strange women, in his eyes on could see a thousand questions, but he could barely speak. Othala withdrew her hand, and was relieved.

- Yes, his vital energy seems to have returned, but his body still needs chemical energy to function. Unlike us, he needs to eat, at least he need carbohydrates immediately.

- Food? Yes, I know here is a place for storage and processing. I will take him to eat. - Lind looked at the child's face who tried to protest and for a moment had the luxury of a smile. - Come on my little warrior. You must regain your strength so that you can help us. - And took him to the kitchen.

The other Valkyries looked stunned as their commander was away. That was Lind? the most dreaded and legendary of the Valkyries whose name make shook the hearts of demons!. A few a moments ago, they had seen tears in her eyes and now the way she treated that child. Then they froze when an authoritative voice filled the room.

- Keep working!

Yes, that was better, immediately they returned to their patients.

* * *

Walharen and Marler walked along the room while they check the bodies lying on the floor. There were was almost 50 bodies, they seemed like dead, yet they had weak signs of breathing.

Marler asked:

- How long can they survive?

- We transfer all their energy and magic to Hild. Unfortunately, we cannot to a partial transfer since what I did was to transfer their identity to Hild, and the system believes Hild is all of them. The only energy they have is metabolic like humans, but in human terms, they are weaker than a newborn. In addition, they cannot take energy of the system since they have lost their identity as demons. Look how they do not even have marks. If their energy is not back in a few days, they will begin to die, but I hope this will not take more than a few hours.

Marler looked at the bodies and then to Walharen

- They volunteered and risked their lives because they have hopes of changing our world, but why did you help us?

- For the same reason they did it. I fear Hild, but I have seen records of the wars. I have performed simulations with alternative scenarios. In the end, we had no way to win, nor the gods. The victory of either side would have caused the destruction of the multiverse. We cannot exist apart. If only we...

Marler interrupted.

- Look at the screen, what is happening there.

The screen was filled with the image of Dysnomia, the desert world where the trial was conducted. What once was a dark world, now was intensely bright and what once was cold stone, now was a sea of lava. The entire planet seemed on the verge of collapse. At the place where the battle occurred, something that looked as a glowing wall began to spread across the surface turning the planet in an incandescent sphere. Then the sphere began to increase its size as the dead planet went from being lava into gas and then into plasma. The sphere began to grow faster and the growth became an explosion. Before they realized what happened, where a planet has existed, there was now empty space.

Marler screamed in horror at the destruction. Who could have survived that? He ran to the council room where confusion reigned. No one knew what had happened. The planet had been reinforced to use it in energy trials. The battle had reached unimaginable levels.

Then there was silence as a portal began to open in the center of the room. Fear reigned in the hall. There were magic protections to prevent that. Only someone with great power could do it.

Then there from all the demons came out a cry.

- Hild!.. Hail Hild, our sovereign, the great Daimakaichō.

Hild descended to the ground. Her face was impassive, as her eyes slowly swept the room, and allowed a wry smile that brought terror to all. Her face radiated a lot of energy from the battle that made her terribly beautiful.

Hild started walking slowly toward the antechamber, while all bowed along her path. Absolute silence reigned in the room and no one dared to move. They had witnessed her power.

Hild went through the door, followed by Marler. No sooner had the door closed, Hild looked at Marler with supplicate on her eyes and pain on her voice said:

- Look for Urd. I need her!

Then she collapsed to the floor.

**End of Chapter XV**

* * *

Notes:

I thank to Ralph Vaughan Williams, Kenji Kawai and Yoko Kano, for their music that helped me write this.

**Dysnomia**: is the name of the natural satellite of planet Eris. Eris would have been the 10th planet of the solar system, and the discovered originally has suggested the name "Xena"... After the name was rejected, he chose to call its satellite: Dysnomia, which means "conflict" or "without law" in honor of actress Lucy Lawless.

**Tears of Peele**: they are drops of molten glass, found around some volcanoes. The names come from the Hawaiian goddess of the volcanoes.


	16. Chapter 16: The Order

**Warning:**

** I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story.**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

**Chapter XVI**

**The Order**

**The** room was huge, slender columns whose geometries seemed impossible supported it; the ceiling seemed to be lost in the heights. The walls were decorated with illustrations done in soft colors, also there were delicate carvings made from materials like marble that gave the place an ethereal and graceful aspect. The light came through large windows with colorful glass that stained the interior with the soft colors of the rainbow. It looked like a Gothic cathedral built on dreams. The floor was decorated with intricate geometric shapes and lines that converged at the center in a design reminiscent of a mandala.

On the spacious room a gentle stream or air of went through indentation on the wall, producing soft musical tones, creating a soft symphony barely audible but able to induce relaxation. The place was designed to inspire peace, with geometric designs to help to focus the mind and achieve a state of meditation, but at this time, it was far from fulfilling its role.

In the center of the room was a solitary figure, in the midst of this immense place the figure should look tiny, but he had such a presence that seemed to fill the room.

In human terms it would have looked like a man of mature age, long brown hair tied in knots. His face was hard to describe. He had a soft glow that prevented to look at him directly. His clothing was simple, but intricate detail was engraved on it, also it was filled with ribbons, and tie knots. They were magical seals that helped him control his power. The large number of seals was a sign of his enormous power.

The man was looking at the beautiful and complex design of the floor immersed on his toughs. The intricate mandala had always had helped him to focus. That design had been perfected along millennium to be perfectly tuned to a complex mind. However, this time it did not bring peace.

Under normal circumstances, nothing could have distracted him from his meditation, but now he could clearly hear the rustling of clothes of approaching members of the general council. However, he did not turned around to see them. He still needed a little more time to think and chose to ignore them.

The newcomers were four gods. Their clothes and their seals denoted a high rank. Unlike Hell where the council was made up of hundreds of demons, the structure of this world was vertical. In these five beings resided most of the power of this universe.

There was no way of knowing their real age, but their clothes, ornaments and seals indicated high rank and power. One of them had a stern demeanor that suggested an older age.

However, despite their high-ranking, they did not dare to interrupt the man who was concentrated on the mandala and waited patiently until he noticed their presence.

Finally, the man closed his eyes and then opened slowly as if waking from a dream. The gods put a knee on the ground to show respect and waited in silence to speak.

The god made a slight and elegant hand gesture and suddenly he was surrounded by floating displays of complex information. He read them with a fast glance, looked to the gods and then spoke in a stern voice.

- The situation is serious, the truce between then universes seem to be broken. The Norns were attacked and at least two of them might not survive. Nevertheless, that is not the main problem. We have a deep problem here in the council. The fighter squadron that should have been there to help them when the alarms detected a large imbalance of power on earth was retained and even now, the requested healers had not been sent. Who is responsible?

The gods could not avoid a surprised exclamation. Kamisama had spoken and he was not pleased. After a few seconds of silence, the stern-faced god spoke:

- I, Hannus, as a member of the high council and second in line of succession, was the one who made that decision and therefore I take full responsibility.

His three companions looked shocked; his words were a confirmation of a serious contempt to the highest authority in this universe. Kamisama watch him, and show a flicker of emotion, but it was more than enough, and then spoke with the authority of the most powerful being in this universe:

- Explain your actions. You have put the lives of gods and mortals in danger

However, Hannus was not impressed, he knew that his power was very close to the current Kamisama, and it was a matter of time to take his place.

- I took decisions that nobody else would dare to take, but they are for the best of our world. For some time the situation at Nifelheim, has become unstable. Every day there is more opposition to Hild´s rule and we knew that a confrontation was inevitable. Today a high-level communication between Nidhogg, and Yggdrasil was established to request a temporary suspension of the doublet system, invoking 235.45 Protocol. I imposed my authority and force the system to approve it, without informing the council.

A cry of surprise close to the horror was heard from the other gods

- That is the execution protocol! It´s only invoked to punish a criminal who should be executed. It is one of the few times when the doublet system can be temporarily suspended, and it requires the approval of 3 out of 4 members of the high council. That is treason.

Hannus looked at them with some contempt.

- I hoped you could understand, but apparently, you are filled with fear. It was a unique opportunity. The doublet system has only brought a shameful peace. I was informed that there were two names to be disassociated from their doublet: Anang-Reng and Hild. - He paused to see the effect of his words. With increased satisfaction, he saw the fear growing on their faces at this information. - This could only mean one thing. A trial of power was about to take place, and I know that Hild would not accept it unless Anang-Reng would challenge her authority in a way that Hild could avoid. We knew that Hild had been avoiding such trials, even if in the past they had been common. Nevertheless, we all know there is something Hild could not tolerate. A direct attack on her daughter, even if she had been disown by her mother, she is still a candidate to the Daimakaichō tittle.

One of the members of the council, a god named Huldar questioned him. - You mean that is the reason to the attack on the Norns?. You knew it would happen!. Are you a fool? Are you not able to understand what it means? This confirms your betrayal. You have filled with shame this council.

Hannus answered him with fury.

- No, you are then ones that betrayed our people. A peace based on fear cannot be peace. Think about it, if Hild is defeated, Anang Rene would try to cancel the system and we now have a fair case to declare war. He is so arrogant that he would be an easy adversary. If Hild wins, she would be too weak and we could launch a preemptive strike, the number of casualties could be kept to a minimum. In any case, we must order the élite fighter squadron to return here to be ready for the war; we cannot hold it back on taking care of those pitty goddesses...

Kamisama looked at him trying to penetrate his thoughts, but the power of this god was close to his own power, he could not penetrate his defenses. He spoke with a calmness, which contrasted with the turmoil of the council members.

- Your arguments seem logical, but you kept your true motives hidden. You know that your aspiration to be the second in line of succession can be challenged by the goddess Belldandy. By birth and by her potential, she has been raised and prepared to be able to take my place.

- Belldandy? Ah! How to forget that insane plan! But let's face it, Belldandy is far from having the necessary power and for the rest of the plan, Urd would never be the Daimakaichō and the little goddess Skuld has not even been able to develop real magic so she take refuge on her mechanical toys. - Then god spoke mockingly: "_**Urð hétu eina, aðra Verðandi, Skuld ina þriðju; þær lög lögðu, þær líf kuru**__** alda börnum, örlög seggja"**_. That is a ridiculous prophecy. Never mind that if was planned by two of the greater gods. Our worlds will never have peace that way. You all know reason is at my side.

The other three gods retreated in fear of those words, even if the felt the same they feared the possible consequences.

- I knew Kamisama would not approve it, so I acted on my own, now we have a justification to make a preventive attack, and we must do before the winner of the trial can regain his strength. At this point Nifelheim is vulnerable. As a member of High Council, I demand a vote to ratify my actions. It´s time to end millions of years of an embarrassing...

Kamisama interrupted abruptly. Finally, he showed emotion on his voice.

- Enough! I heard enough! The doublete system may seem embarrassing, but it has allowed us to live in peace. Now I understand many incidents have been occurring. I should have let Lind investigate the anomalies that were reported by Urd at Yggdrasil. Now it is unnecessary. More gods must be involved. Nevertheless, is your right to have your vote. It will be granted. After that I will act.

Hannus went pale; he had hoped to avoid a direct confrontation with Kamisama. Then faced the other council members in challenging attitude

- We must regain our dignity as gods. I had spoken with you and I know you feel the same. It is time to act.

One of the gods walked slowly and bowed to him. It was a vote on his behalf, but the other two were in doubt. Deep on their hearts, they agreed with Hannus, but they remembered and feared the war. Then slowly turned them back to Hannus.

Hannus shout - No, do not betray me- He knew what that meant. He had been so sure about their vote and really believed he had their approval. - Please, Do not disown me. I know you think like me! - One of the gods replied, without looking at him.

- There is a difference between what we want to do and what we must do. Your actions have caused unnecessary harm. Now, tell us who else conspires with you?

Then Kamisama spoke, while extending his arm to Hannus.

- You have your vote, two to one, and you must now respond to the charge of treason against the order we have worked so hard to achieve. You must also disclose the names of your accomplices.

Kamisama's hand began to shine while extending his hand to the god, with the intention of confine him with a magical seal, but he was faster. From his robe, he pulled out a small amulet. It seemed harmless but the others shouted in recognition. It was ancient magic; crude, primitive, but deadly.

Hannus knew that his punishment would to be condemned to the dissolution of his conscience, and he considered worsth than death, so he had no doubts. He took the amulet and ordered - immolation! - The Amulet grew a brightness that spread around his body, and then began to break the containment fields that gave him physical form.

A flash of nova intensity dissolved the place, when the body of the god released, in an orgy of destruction, all the magical energy accumulated over millions of years.

* * *

Lind watched with attention to the little mortal that devoured a bowl of cereal. His aura glowed in a strange yet beautiful way, but she did not understand what it meant. She had seen how Gaia had given sustenance to his body, but she knew the boy could not be aware of it.

Eventually the child finished, he still looked a little pale but soon would be fine. He leaved the plate and nervously looked at the Valkyrie. He felt intimidated by her presence, but he had to ask.

- Madam, I feel better. Please, Can I return with others? I need to know how they are and try to do something for them.

- Soon, you will return with them, but first I need to know what happened here. Please let me take out your memories.

The child swallowed nervously, he did not know what she meant by it but it did not sound nice.

- You must remove my memories. Will you use magic? Would not be better that I just tell you all?

- I will not hurt you if that is what you fear, but if I can, I draw your memories directly then I would observe events that have no meaning to you. If you want to help the goddesses, is the best way.

The boy got up, his fear of the unknown could be seen, yet he approached Lind and said:

- Then do it, I'll do whatever it takes to help

Lind smiled imperceptibly at the resolution of the child. He put her hand on his temples and invoked the magic needed to extract his memories. Lind saw everything the child had witnessed. The demons, the struggle and despair of the goddesses and Keiichi´s courage, and the decisive intervention of the Doctor. Strategy, courage and sacrifice were the highest ideals for her, and she found them.

She finished storing the memories of the child, then looked at him seriously and to the surprise of the child, knelt on the ground, and made a reverence to the child and spoke with deep respect that would make his words remain engraved forever on his young heart.

- **Sentarō Kawanishi-san** is an honor to meet you. Three goddesses and three mortal have faced and overpowering force and were victorious. No matter what happens, your name will be recorded among the annals of the history of the immortals. **The battle of the temple** Tarikihongan would become part of our legends.

Sentarō did not know how to react, he sensed that Lind was a powerful goddess, yet she spoke to him with respect. He was filled with mixed feelings, those words made him feel full of pride, but also felt he had done so little to deserve it. Lind could see his inner struggle and approved. The mark of a true hero is the one that does not accepted himself as such. Before he could react, she led him into Urd´s room with the others. The room was dim, very little light came through the windows because of the clouds surrounding the temple, but a soft glow lit up the whole place.

Sentarō was nervous and was startled by what he saw: Skuld, Keiichi and Dr. Shugahara were unconscious and attended by a goddess with a stern face. At the other extreme of the room, were Urd and Belldandy. Two Valkyries took care of each goddess. Their arms outstretched, chanting incomprehensible words in a monotone voice. Their hands emanated a glow that stretched along the goddesses like a blanket of wrapping light. That was the source of the glow that illuminated the room. Sentarō cried at the vision of their bruised and burned bodies.

- Belldandy, Urd! What happened to them? What are you doing to them?

He tried to run towards them, but Lind stopped him.

- Their bodies received major damages from combat. My squad is trying to stabilize them or otherwise their physical form will disperse and their consciousness will dissolve forever. Soon specialized healers will come to treat them, since we cannot keep them indefinitely this way because we are only warriors and we do not have advanced healing abilities. You should not try to touch them, you could interfere with the container field and it could become unstable.

Sentarō turned to see Skuld and the two men. They did not seem to have been wounded so much, but they were strangely still. He felt the desire to run along Skuld but the presence of the goddess of severe aspect seemed to imply that was not a good idea. He looked at Lind with despair, and she explained:

- Skuld is very weak, but otherwise she is not harmed. She used much of her energy to generate the field that protected you and is a young goddess. She is not in immediate danger, but will not wake up until her body recovers a minimum of energy. Keiichi and this man are also very weak, but we think the will soon be well, like you. It seems Gaia is nurturing them, the same as did it you.

- Who is Gaia?

- Gaia is the spirit and life force of the earth, it gives energy to all living beings on this planet, but I cannot say more. I do not understand much

Lind took the mortal child along Skuld and with a gesture; she indicated it was fine to touch her. Sentarō at by Skuld and took her hand. She did not reacted, he tried to speak to her, but to no avail, He look at the goddess who attended her with pleading eyes and were beginning to fill with tears.

Madam, Will she be okay? She does not react at all.

- You can call me Othala - replied, with a softness that belied her stern face. - She will be fine, but it would take time. We cannot help her here on earth.

Lind put her hand on Sentarō`s shoulder, then asked the healer.

- Othala, What is the status?

- The Mortals are slowly regaining their vital energy. It looks as it is the same as the mortal child, I do not understand but we know it works. They soon will recover consciousness, after that they will only need a stock of chemical energy. Until then I will attend to their wounds. They pose no danger.

Hearing these words, Sentarō gasped in surprise, just remember Urd's instructions. He got up and ran to where Keiichi was unconscious; looking through his clothes and pull out a metal case, then hastened back to give it to Ghadril.

- Madame ... errr.. Othala. Urd gave us this, They are magic potions if we were wounded, she marked white for mortals, blue for the goddesses. We should apply to them all.

Othala took the case intrigued and exclaimed:

- Magic potions for healing? I am not sure that is most appropriate, especially if they are from Urd, I always found childish her fondness for these substances.

Lind interrupted.

- I have already seen what they can do. Urd has managed to turn the use of potions into a powerful science.

Despite being her superior, she did not seem to convince Othala, her prejudice against the potions was entrenched.

- I think we should wait for the healers. They should be here soon. - Then she raised her voice -I there any news yet?

They were interrupted by Chrono. The young goddess stood in front of Lind, her nervousness and concern was evident.

- Madame, I tried to contact Heaven to find out about the healers, but the only response I had been "code crimson". It came in the highest security encryption. I have no doubt it is authentic.

Lind received the notice with disbelief and had to struggle to appear calm. This mission was becoming a nightmare.

**Crimson Code:** meant full communications silence, full interruption of power flow from Yggdrasil, suspension of all magical activity, go into stealth mode and go unnoticed until they received the counter-command.

It meant only one thing... Serious problems in Heaven, either the defense system should be inoperative or Yggdrasil itself. Therefore, they were vulnerable. All communication should cease to avoid any possibility of Hell knowing about it. Lind clenched her fists with a sense of helplessness. Her presence was needed in heaven, but she could not return. Never before that code had been used. For the first time since they had established the inter-dimensional bridges, Heaven had voluntarily cut off all contact with other universes in order to repair the damage that may have suffered. There was no information about what happened; there was no way to find out how much time could pass before communications were restored. A serious problem could amount to years or centuries in human terms.

- Any other message?

Chrono hesitated before answering.

- I was not exactly a message. Only the code, and then ... - The girl paused ...- and then a prayer.

For only answer, Lind nodded and then sat on the floor, crossed her legs and went into a meditation trance. The situation was serious and need to coldly evaluate all possible actions. Her squadron stood respectfully awaiting any decision that could their superior would take. They had full confidence in her.

Lind evaluated the facts: The most serious, they would receive no power from Yggdrasil to replace the energy they had been using. That would mean to rely on local energy sources, but they were very limited. The orders also imply not to use of magic that could bring attention to them and they should try to pass as humans until further notice. That meant a death condemn to the goddesses since she would have to suspend the stabilizer field. That was unacceptable, but she could not ask her squad to keep that energy expenditure or soon all would be unarmed. She needed high power alternative sources of energy, since she was responsible of the lives of her squad. She could not count on having help from heaven; the events should had been of such urgency that the life of a squad of Valkyries would not be a priority. Her only alternative was to seek help from earth, from mortals. Suddenly she opened her eyes and gave an order:

- Othala, apply the potion to the mortals, we need them to wake up. Keiichi knows more about this world and he knows about gods, maybe he can help us obtain other sources of energy. Watch how the potion works on them and then try it on Urd and Belldandy. We cannot hold them much time in the container field.

Othala tried to protest, but realized she had no choice. It was a direct order, not a suggestion. She took the metal box and examined the contents suspiciously. It appeared to contain only pieces of paper.

- How do I use this? This seems to be a joke. It is unlike any potion I know.

Sentarō answer her:

- Urd explained to me that the potion goes directly through the skin, it is a system she perfected with the help of doctor Shugahara. Just place one of the white adhesive patches on the skin. She told me with this we would not need to drink.

Othala just raised an eyebrow intrigued by the idea. It seemed a convenient way to implement it. - A mortal helped her? - She was still skeptic. She approached the men, and they applied the adhesive paper patch on the arm.

A slow reaction began, but it was gradually speeding up, a soft glow began to grow along their bodies, they shuddered and then relaxed, and Ghadril notice the difference immediately. They were going from a depth comma to a natural state of sleep. Then watched as Keiichi's wounds began to heal Keiichi, along the scrapes and cuts that the other man had on the skin. She smiled satisfied with the result and looked at the child.

- Impressive! Urd would have to explain me how it works. Now Young Sentarō, We should give you one to treat those bruises.

Sentarō refused- First give it to Urd and Belldandy, they are more important than I am - Othala shocked her head.

- Belldandy and Urd in critical condition, I need more tests - she took a patch and applied it on her skin. She closed her eyes and concentrated to feel the potion's effects. She had no injuries, but felt how the magic spread across her body. The effect was powerful, but not enough. Her face darkened. She turned to speak with Lind. - This will not work. It is a very powerful potion, but not enough to help them. To apply it we would have to release them from the stabilizing field, but they would not survive long enough for the potion to take effect and...

She was interrupted by a moan. Keiichi was the first to react, he opened his eyes slowly, and Lind came and gently knelt beside him. Keiichi looked at her confused; he seemed to have trouble recognizing her, suddenly exclaimed:

- Lind! What are you doing here? What happened here?

Lind gave sigh of relief, to the surprise of her squad; she took Keiichi's hand and held it.

-Keiichi, my friend, you soon you will be fine. I am here to help you.

Keiichi attempted to get up, but was very weak. Lind gently put her hand on his chest to avoid him to get up.

- Do not try to get up, you are still very weak. You used most of your vital energy in battle; it is remarkable feat that you are still alive.

- The Battle! - Keiichi exclaimed while he began to remember. - Where is Belldandy? What happened to her?

Lind pressed his hand a bit harder - At this moment you cannot do anything for her. Her condition is critical but stable.

Keiichi again attempted to get up, but his body still did not respond. He was extremely weak and could barely move. He made a gesture of despair at the betrayal of his own body, then implored to Lind.

- I need to see her! Please help me!

Lind nodded, then lifted him in her arms like a little boy and took him to see Belldandy and Urd. Keiichi cried when he saw her broken and wounded body.

What happened to her? What are you doing to her?

Lind spoke, there was certain awe on her tone - Belldandy faced an enemy immensely more powerful than her, but never gave up. She was willing to give her live to save you and almost died, but you saved her. With the amulet you have, you were able share your vital energy and both created a very powerful shield. Both were very close to death. Unfortunately, Belldandy is not yet out of danger. Her body sustained terrible damage, and not only her earthly body, which is what you see, but her multidimensional body, which is now unstable. Her true body is like a container that holds her essence and her personal code, if it fails, she would disappear and her Goddess heart would get lost. We will do not let that happen. They are keeping her multidimensional body stable until we can take them to heaven.

Keiichi cried, he felt anger, sadness and helplessness for not being able to help his loved one. He tried to touch her defenseless body, but Lind took him away and told him sternly.

- Keiichi, the field is very fragile; do not try to touch it. You have already have done more than any mortal or god could. Now use that anger to recover yourself.

Then Sentarō approached him, he could not contain his feelings and embraced Keiichi.

- We beat them. Miss Urd did something extraordinary. She defeated the demons and the chief fled. He was trying to kill Belldandy and Urd stopped him, and then vanished in one of these tunnels, that is the last thing I remember.

Keiichi looked puzzled to Lind.

- Urd told me that only a Valkyrie would be able to cope with a tribune, and not even a Valkyrie could face a Shaikh. How was possible for Urd to beat him.

Lind asked intrigued:

- From the beginning you knew were facing immeasurably superior forces?

- We knew and preferred to fight.

- I do not know where she got the power to defeat them. Nevertheless, it was not just her, you all helped. Keiichi, I knew you were a very special mortal, you have proven once again that you are able to give everything for what you love. Now we must help this other mortal. Who is and what is he doing here?

- He is Doctor Shugahara Kenji. It is a very wise man- Keiichi hesitated, and then looked at the doctor - and he is here because he loves Urd deeply. He warned us that there could be danger after he confirmed the murder of the goddess Giörel, so we were prepared.

Lind left Keiichi on the futon and went to examine the Doctor.

- He knew about Giörel? How a mortal could find out?

- For many years, he has been studying magic. He has helped Urd with her potions and together they have made many discoveries. He loves her and I have seen he willingly would give his life for her.

- He seems to be a special mortal deadly, like you two - pointing to Keiichi and Sentarō.

Chrono came nearby and Keiichi recognized her. She had been before on earth as part the Yggdrasil system assistant.

Chrono is it really you? You are a now Valkyrie. I am glad.

- Keiichi-san do you still remember me? It was an honor to be on earth with Belldandy and you. I will do everything I can to help. - She turned around and said to Lind:

- Madame, the stabilizing field is becoming weaker.

Lind looked anxiously at the Valkyries who were in charge of Urd and Belldandy and asked:

- Ghadril, how long can they hold the stabilizer field without the support of Yggdrasil?

Ghadril approached the Valkyries and extended her hands to feel their energy, her face darkened, and with concern, oh her voice said:

- I do not think they could hold it more than four earth hours. The field consumes a lot of energy. Maybe we could take turns, but then all we would be helpless. Without contact with Yggdrasil, we cannot recover our energy and...

They were distracted by a noise; Dr. Shugahara began his regaining consciousness. Lind called Sentarō to help him and step back. As a warrior, she knew waking before an unknown face would be unsettling.

Gradually, the Doctor began to regain consciousness. Keiichi and Sentarō proceeded inform him about the situation, while the Doctor looked fascinated at the strange squad of women. Valkyries no less! Certainty they did not look like the mythological ones, he was sure they were the real ones and his curiosity was exacerbated. He felt awe after he realized he had just meet Valkyries AFTER a fierce battle! His heart was pounding with emotion. When he heard, that Urd was unconscious and wounded, he also insisted on seeing her. Again, Lind was responsible for helping to fulfill his wish. Lind later explained them his weakness was a lack of chemical energy on their bodies and they simply needed to eat.

The doctor did not want to get away from Urd. He instructed Ghadril to search among Urd´s ingredients for a jar with glucose and dissolved it on water. Keiichi and the doctor took the sweet liquid and quickly regaining their energy. Soon the two men were standing while Ghadril noted with approval, this man seemed to know what was doing.

Lind consulted briefly with Othala, who indicated they were a good condition. Now it was time to find solutions.

- Doctor Shugahara Kenji, where did you get this? - Showing one of the medallions - Sentarō-san told me you gave them to Keiichi and him. This is advanced magic, and yet seems designed to be used by mortals, there should be nothing like this.

The doctor looked hesitant to Lind. Her appearance coincided perfectly with the story of Somasindhu. He knew she had tried to erase the memory of the young Hindu and did not want to risk that. Keiichi noticed his indecision.

- Doctor, can we trust Lind, I have in very special bond with her.

The man looked surprised at Keiichi.

- A bond with her? What kind of man are you? I hope we can talk later; there are thousands of questions that would like to make you. - His look at the extraordinary scene around him, there was really a world of gods! - I had already accepted Urd as a goddess, but all this confuses me.

The doctor still could not really accept the battle he had witnessed. Everything was so fantastic that it would have been easier to accept it as a hallucination. He had really participated in a battle between gods and demons and was now surrounded by the mythological Valkyries. No doubt, those beautiful women were goddesses, and by their pose, it was clear that her trade was war. He looked at Lind, she was equally beautiful and seemed young, but had an air of authority and security that could not come from someone who looked so young. Keiichi understood the man's confusion; he recalled his confusion when he met Belldandy for the first time. He put his hand on the doctor´s shoulder. By then he was no longer his sempai, an older and wiser person, he was just a confused man.

- Yes doctor, all this is real. They are really goddesses, and we owe you our lives to your warning. You saved our lives!

The doctor approached Lind, who had patiently observed the scene, greeting her with a respectful bow. There was a difference between examining ancient documents to deal with reality.

Then he remembered the Crystal and what he had offer in exchange. If Lind was indeed a goddess, and the crystal came from her enemies, it might be wise not mention it. Took a deep breath as his mind was adapted to this new situation, and then began to speak:

- Lind, Valkyrie, first class goddess and commander of the special force division, I have heard about you. - Lind looked into his eyes with expectation, that was an extraordinary statement - I heard of you through a Hindu boy, to whom you tried to block his memory.

- Somasindhu? ¿His memory has been released. How much else do you know?

- From him, I knew about the death of the goddess Giörel, so I warned Belldandy and Urd about the danger. As Keiichi told me, that saved their lives, as they were prepared to fight. Not sure how, but from the Somasindhu story, seems you forgot to take an object left by Giörel which contained something special and that is what help him to regain his memory.

- Then it was our mistake. Nevertheless, a fortunate mistake. I was not authorized to reveal anything but tried to prevent Urd.

The doctor nodded, and then Lind asked: - What is the origin of these medallions?

- About 1200 years ago, Urd lived on earth and...- Lind interrupted.

- Yes, I remember - there was a slight hint of a smile on Lind- We had some problems with her.

The doctor froze for a moment. This unexpected confirmation Urd´s history was making all this more fantastic.

- She formed a sisterhood with women from that era, to give them teaching and knowledge...

- Urd did that? Did she really give knowledge to mortals? Had it been known at that time, her punishment would have been more severe.

The doctor now understood some of Urd´s action. She had acted against the authorities of her world. He took a moment to assimilate the information and continued.

- She created those medallions so the women of the sisterhood could communicate and protect themselves. The medallions were lost over time, but I was able to recover these three.

Lind examined one of the medallions. Indeed, she could recognize the Urd´s work on them. It was a beautiful and complex piece of magic. Urd had broken many rules on their elaboration and because of it, they had an extraordinary power in the hands of mortals. She turned to see the helpless body of the goddess. Her former protégé had won several points of respect, even though she had broken many rules on it.

- Do you understand how they work?

This time Keiichi answered.

- I think I understand. They are a kind of catalysts. Once I gave my energy to your angel, those medallions are able to extract energy from us in the same way, and they can create a protection shield. They were made for defense. However, I think they can do more.

- Yes, they are much more than that. I saw the shields; they were a mixture of mortal and divine energy. I never thought it possible. However, that does not help me to save them.

Keiichi and the doctor were startled by Lind´s words. Keiichi was the first to ask:

- Save the, what is happening? You told us that they were stable; I thought you would take them to Heaven to your healers.

- That was my intentions, but now is now impossible, we are isolated here, we are in the middle of a crisis on Heaven and we cannot return. Yggdrasil would not let us return until the alert is canceled, and if we continue like this, my squad will run out of energy to keep the stabilizer field. Without this field they will die. We need an alternate source of energy to keep it running.

To the surprise of Lind and Dr., Keiichi jumped in surprise.

- Energy? Yggdrasil is not providing power and you need alternative energy? I have a solution for that!

Before they had time to ask, Keiichi ran from the room, they heard the sound of drawers being opened and items were thrown to the floor. Keiichi soon was back with a box containing what looked like bracelets, but they were not made from metal, but something like a dark stone. He offered them to Lind, who took one of them and asked:

- What is this?

- This Bracelets are made from artificial moonstones. It is not the first time it happens that Yggdrasil cannot provide energy to Belldandy and the goddesses. On one of those occasions, I manufactured these bracelets. Each one can provide some energy and I can make more, but takes time.

Lind took one of the bracelets with curiosity and put it on. She knew about moonstones, but artificial moonstones made by mortals. She felt the energy flow from it, I was not at the same level than the flow from Yggdrasil, but it may be enough. She took it off immediately. She was the most powerful from the squad; the others may need this energy. This would give them extra time. She called the healer:

- Ghadril the energy from these bracelets will support us. They are moonstones. Distribute them among those in need and give me a new estimate of the time.

The warrior who had witnessed the exchange made no further questions; it was almost a miracle to have moonstones here, in this place. She used one to estimate the energy that could provide then she put two of them at each one of the goddesses who created the containment field. The goddesses had already begun to show signs of fatigue, but soon recovered with the bracelets. Ghadril wait a moment to confirm the effect, and then reported.

- They really work, you were right; these mortals have knowledge unknown to us. I never tough they could manufacture them. With the available bracelets, we have 12 hours. The bracelets will give us 12 hours extra time.

- Will the extra energy be enough so you can apply the Urdu potion?

- The risk is too high. We need to release the container field to use it, implement it, but if the potion fails and not restored in time, it would be fatal.

- What is the solution?

- We need to increase the power of the field by several orders of magnitude to provide stability to their bodies permanently, only then we can apply the healing potion and close their wounds. The bracelets cannot give us so much energy, still they will give us time, perhaps enough to establish contact with Yggdrasil, but we need more of these...

Doctor Shugahara interrupted.

- Keiichi, what to you need to make more? Can we increase their energy?

The young man thought for a moment. I made them sneaking into the lab at Nekomi Tech. By trial and error, I managed to increase its power, but the equipment at the Nekomi Lab is not enough.

- The components are easy to get, but I need a high pressure and high temperature press to simulate the conditions of the early moon. Maybe if we get better equipment.

- The equipment from the materials laboratory at the University of Chiba is more advanced, and if that is not enough we will search another one. In addition, we can use it openly and maybe my colleagues will help us to improve the procedure. Explain me procedure, I am not an engineer, but I know people who can help us.

The young engineer and scientist began a discussion. Abstract knowledge of the doctor and the practical knowledge of the engineer were supplemented with the knowledge both have been learning from Heaven. They gradually came to an agreement.

Lind had observed the exchange with curiosity. The vocabulary Earth did not make much sense for her, although the concepts behind it were trivial for a goddess: Subatomic particles, high-energy beams, multidimensional crystalline structures, particle collider. However, it seemed that there were alternatives and her frustration began to disappear. Keiichi finally spoke to Lind, his eyes were glowing with barely contained emotion, and he had discovered could use his knowledge and skills to help Belldandy and Urd.

- I think we can manufacture the bracelets with more energy, but will take time. We have to organize a manufacturing process and gradually increase power. Maybe we could get enough power. In theory is possible!

- This place you have spoken, the University of Chiba. We will need a communication link, since we cannot use magic. Chrono will go with you. You must teach her how to travel as a mortal.

Keiichi smiled, it would be easier for her pose as a common girl. - She cannot go dressed like this. Maybe we can use some clothes from Belldandy and Skuld.

Upon hearing, this Sentarō interrupted.

- I also want to help. - The young man was infected by the enthusiasm of Doctor Shugahara and Keiichi. The doctor smiled and said to the child.

- You have every right to be with us. The three of us are willing to do anything for them. You will not separate from us until they recover. Let me talk to your parents, maybe they will hear the request from a sensei.

The cries of joy from the boy resonate at the temple taking away the ominous feelings that had invaded it.

* * *

Anang-Reng regained consciousness. It was a strange feeling. Demons do not need to sleep while the have enough energy sources and Anang-Reng knew he had not been sleeping. His return to consciousness was instant, as if suddenly someone had driven a light switch.

He tried to get up, but nothing happened. It was very disconcerting. Not that he had been tied or restrained, at least he did not feel anything on his body His brain had given the order to his body and felt as if he had moved, however nothing happened. He felt as if he had not changed his position. He felt his body, it did not feel paralyzed, and yet he did not move.

Everything was dark; he neither saw nor heard anything. He stretched out his arms, he felt them, and then tried to touch his body, and felt nothing. He was shocked and attempted to scream but no sound came out. He had not found anything; his body simply did not exist.

He needed to see what was happening, threw a simple spell to create light and disperse the darkness, but nothing happened. He tried other spells, each on more powerful than before, but nothing happened. It was as his was just a conscious with ghost body. He realizes there was absolutely no sound, no light, as if those senses had never existed.

Suddenly a sound penetrated his brain. It was a sound that seemed to pierce trough his thoughts, a pure sound. So pure it hurts and with intensity, he had never imagined. The sound began to change in tone and intensity. It went all over the scale of his senses and even beyond them, hearing sound he never imagined could exist. Slowly the sound ceased to be painful; it even seemed to become pleasant compared to the absolute silence in which he was previously submerged. Finally, the sound became a soft white noise and with a barely audible volume.

Then came a blinding white pure light, so powerful he felt pain, then light began to diminish in intensity until it stopped hurting. The light became a pure blue tone, so pure he could not believe it could exist, and then started to change colors.

Finally, Anang-Reng understood what was happening and felt fear. These pure sounds and pure lights could only mean something, his brain was being connected directly to artificial senses and he was going through a calibration routine.

As a confirmation, several complex images appeared, they were test patterns. Suddenly everything went black, and then he heard a voice, but it was speaking an unknown language. Normally Nidhogg provided demons with an almost instantaneous knowledge for any known language. That meant he was no longer connection with the Hell supercomputer that controlled their universe.

Then the voice began to laugh, he did not need understanding of the language to shudder at the cruelty of that laughter. Then he felt his brain was manipulated, as if new information was introduced in it and now he could understand the voice.

- Poor Shaikh Anang-Reng, we gave you every opportunity you could dream on and still failed. We should have not even bothered to save your consciousness.

Anang-Reng attempted to answer, but no sound came out from his nonexistent throat.

- I can see all your thoughts perfectly; there is no need to talk. Perhaps we can find some use for you. You still have some useful knowledge.

Then Anang-Reng heard another voice.

- My lord, it would be easier to simply get rid of his conscious mind and integrate its knowledge directly to the database. The mind structure would not suffer so much stress.

Again heard cruel laughter.

Yes, it would be easier, but it would not be so fun. The Lord of Jötunheimr also needs some entertainment.

Anang-Reng recognized the name and knew the real meaning of terror.

* * *

Keiichi, Dr. Shugahara and Sentarō were standing in a desolate landscape. The ground was still warm, but the atmosphere was breathable, thanks to the work of the Valkyries who had been trying to restore the place, but now they had ceased their work to save energy. The flow of lava was now solidified and the sand garden was now solid glass. The sunset colored the landscape with ominous red tones, giving it an even more desolate aspect.

Keiichi felt a deep sorrow at the destruction. He imagined what would feel Belldandy, the temple had been surrounded by a grove and Belldandy knew by name all the life forms that inhabited it. Every tree, every bush and every little self, were her friends, and now none of that existed. His motorcycle should have been turned into a puddle of molten metal, and probably the same with Bampei-kun, the Skuld's android. She knew that she would suffer with his demise. He had almost come to regard him as a living being, since he shared Skuld's love for machines.

The three mortals could hardly believe they had survived this level of destruction. Just a few hours before had been fighting for their lives along the goddesses. That knowledge had formed a bond between the three that would never break.

Suddenly Doctor Shugahara spoke in a low voice to Keiichi:

- Keiichi, I understand that between you and Lind there is a bond of friendship, yet I felt you have not told her everything - The young man smiled, the doctor seemed to have guessed something. He already felt guilty for hiding something to Lind.

- It is true, perhaps by accident, but I have direct access to Yggdrasil and I have learned many things I do not think the Heavens would approve. Even if we are friend, she has her duty. I do not want to put her in a predicament. However, I think you also did not told her everything, I think you have something to do with the way Urd defeated the Shaikh. Am I right?

- You guessed it. I have also gained knowledge about the world of Hell, I am sure Lind would approve. We have put together our knowledge. Doctor Shugahara sighted, and then looked at the dying sun, and while Keiichi could not discern his face, he felt the emotion on his voice. - When I discovered the blog of this young Indian, I was sure that we as mortals would hardly be able to intervene with the affairs of gods and demons. What happened here has shown me that we can make a difference.

Sentarō hastened to add.

- Lind told me that **the battle of Tarikihongan temple** would be remembered by the gods, and even told me that the gods would know my name.

Keiichi put his arm on Sentarō's shoulder; he shared the same feeling as the doctor, and told the boy: - Lind is a first class goddess, she does not lie.

- So, it is true, we will be legend. like the legends of the knights who fought for their ladies?

Doctor Shugahara laughed at the idea. He knew so many legends about knights, but there was a difference, so he could not avoid yoking about it.

- Sentarō-san, we do not fight for mere women, they are goddesses after all. They are our goddesses. - But then he thought about it and in a more serious tone added - and I am willing to give my live for her. Keiichi approved his words. He took the doctor by his arm, and when their gaze meet, Keiichi simple made a slight bow. They understood each other. Meanwhile Sentarō had been pondering also those words.

- So, we are like those knights.

- Yes, Sentarō-san, I guess you could say we are.

- Please, do not call me that, you are a sensei.

The doctor looked at the boy, adopted a serious expression and said:

- At this time, Sentarō-san, I consider my equal. You fought bravely, like Keiichi. In a way if we are like those old knights and we are united by a common purpose so we are equal. I do not want you to call doctor again, for you and for Keiichi; I am Kenji and consider me as your brother.

The child looked the doctor in amazement; first Lind had treated him with respect and now the doctor... I cannot imagine treating you like an equal.

At that time, the doctor recalled medallions and took out the one he had.

- Do you have the medallions with you?

They took them out to show him.

- Urd created these medallions for her sisterhood. These medallions had protected us so I think is proper to use them. We will be joined by them and be a brotherhood dedicated to protect and care for our goddesses.

Keiichi examined the medallion, and said.

- Yes, we will defend our Goddesses with our lives. These medallions will seal our fate.

Sentarō looked at the medallion while his imagination was flying.

- Are we going to be like one of those orders of knighthood from the stories?

The doctor looked at the boy and said:

- You two have shown more courage and bravery that some of the real knights from the stories, so be it, we will be like a knighthood.

Sentarō was thrilled. He had expected to be laughed at, but they seem to be taken him seriously. - What name we will use?

The doctor put his hand on the child's shoulder and said.

- We are three mortal bound to defend three immortals. Then we will be knonw as** the order of mortal knights**. The boy looked excited, and wondered.

- Yes!, **the order of mortal knight,** I like it**. -** then he got an idea** - **Should not we make an oath or something like that?

The doctor thought for a moment - Yes an knights order cannot be real without and oath - and then extended his hand. The others placed their hands on.

- We swear to defend our Goddesses with all our knowledge, with all our will and even with our own lives

The three exclaimed:

-I swear!

They had no way of knowing over that oath would rely the fate of three universes.

**End of chapter XVI**

* * *

notes:

**moonstones**: In the manga, after Yggdrasil crashed, the goddesses needed an alternative source of energy in order to function from day-to-day life.  
The answer? The moon has power, so for a while, the goddesses had to wear Moon Rock Bracelets. I, this story I used "moonstones". I think it sound better.


	17. Chapter 17: a Bruise with spacetime

Warning:

English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story.

**I am still not satisfied with this chapter, yet I am releasing it, since i will be busy the next weeks. I hope you do not mind.  
**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**  
**By Elnahual aka Javier Delgado  
**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

**Chapter XVII**  
**A bruise with the beginning of space-time**

From the grove surrounding the Toringinkan temple, everything seemed calm, Belldandy´s powerful magic had created a barrier that casted a perfect illusion, despite the destruction on the inside from the outside everything seemed perfectly normal.

Among the branches of a tree outside the temple, a curvaceous silhouette could be distinguished. Something in her attitude indicated considerable exasperation. This was one of Marler´s favorite places for surveillance and despite knowing the place perfectly; she had been deceived by the perfect illusion.

From this place she had been witness of the daily life inside the temple. How often she had not seen with envy the quiet routine of its residents. Remembering the annoying yet strong love between Keiichi and Belldandy made her memories of Anang-Reh bitterer. The constant quarrels between Skuld and Urd had made her laugh more than once, making her to remember her own childhood when she played with Urd.

Would Urd ever know she had never seriously attempted to hurt her, or that in several occasions she had managed to hold back real attacks against her. Only by pretending to attack her own daughter, Hild had managed to avoid more severe attacks against her by other demons. But Urd never knew about this. How would she receive a request for help from her mother?. A mother she hated and despised for leaving her.

While watching the activity in the temple she began to feel a deep weariness. The weariness of thousands of years playing the buffoon, the clumsy and the mocked one of the world of Hell, and besides that, being Urd´s hidden bodyguard. Now in return, she had received an even greater responsibility. She let out a bitter laugh. Now it was her, whose exploits everyone laughed in Hell, who was in charge of the fate of their world: Hild was dying; none of the possible successors was close to having the power to overcome the others. I this were made public, there would be a war for power, and she knew it would be a long war that would expose them to fall prey to their enemies.

She cursed Hild, for putting her it into this predicament and into this responsibility she never asked. But like Hild, knew she could not turn back on her duty, even if she believed that her people did not deserve it. All these years around Hild had allowed her to see behind the charade that Hild represented and the deep solitude in which she lived. Solitude Hild accepted as another part of her duty.

Then she cursed herself. This was no time to be sentimental. She had a mission, perhaps the most important of her life and something was not right. According to records from Nidhogg, a huge amount of energy had been released here, so she had expected to find great destruction. But everything seemed intact. And she did not perceive the magic of Urd or Belldandy in the proximity.

She already had some time watching and there was no movement. She knew by heart the routines of the residents from the temple. Belldandy and Keiichi should have been here half an hour ago, after finishing their work at Whirlwind. The mortal child who visited Skuld should be arriving, and she saw no traces of the mortal who spent so much time with Urd, despite his ridiculous car was already at the entrance of the temple.

She could not waste any more time, but decided not to enter into the temple limits, knowing that there were defenses against her. The small androids had been particularly efficient to detect and identify her. If she desired, they could be safely destroyed, but that was not the best way to get help from Urd, especially if they had actually been attacked by high level demons.

So, she took a decision. Before entering the temple grounds, she would verify first with Nidhogg the exact place of the energy released and would request to Walharen a global search for the Norns. I there had been an attack, the possibility existed they were no longer on earth.

Fortunately, before leaving Hell, and using the name Hild, she had appointed Walharen as the sole director of Nidhogg, with extraordinary privileges. The little third class demon had become a great ally and she was happy to use his abilities. She set a vigilance gadget, built in imitation of those manufactured by humans to warn her if activity was detected in the temple. Unfortunately, she did not point it to the temple entrance. She felt reckless and could not stay inactive more time. She floated in the air and headed to a Nekomi suburb where her lair was.

As an irony, if she had spent a few more minutes there, she would have seen three mortals and a young goddess appearing in front of the temple entrance.

She had no way of knowing that Belldandy, with her apparent naivety yet full of wisdom, had decided that anyone who used the main entrance of the temple was a friend and would have free passage and fortunately for Marler, she never tried to approach the entrance. The experience of landing in the middle of the Valkyries Elite squad would have been not been nice.

* * *

Lind was kneeling before the Urd´s defenseless body. In a voice almost inaudible, she let her thoughts flow:

- Urd, Valkyrie in training, so far you have exceeded what I expected from you. But I do not understand how. Only by breaking your mother's lock could you have had such power, but you couldn't have done it alone. Also, I do not understand the reasons behind this brutal attack. I expected something similar to Giörel´s attack, never anything on this scale. There are forces involved that cannot understand and too many coincidences.

She paused a moment, looked up and met the gaze of the two Valkyries, who with their perfect discipline continued their monotonous song that kept the container field.

Then she looked around. Her squadron was still a well-disciplined unit, but she knew enough its members to know that some of them were nervous.

The younger had never been in actual combat, so they must felt being disconnected for the first time from Yggdrasil as a frightening experience. They trusted her and that reassured them, but had not been for her presence, the situation would not be so good. She frowned, that was a situation she had not foreseen. She could not let morale to go down, she had to keep them active. That they could not use magic would be a good excuse to exercise a good old fashioned melee. She needed to organize various activities to keep then fit and their mind free of worrisome toughs. With no magic, there would be plenty of physical activity to be performed. She did not know how long they would be isolated, so it was better to be prepared.

She smirked when saw that the youngest of her squadron walking toward her. Chrono unfolded with ease on her new assignment. It had been a good decision to accept her despite being so young, and her previous experience with mortals would help.

Chrono approached her stating that she was ready for her mission. She wore clothes that had been owned by Skuld. She had not yet acquired the severe and rigid attitude that characterized most of the Valkyries, so it would be easier for her poise as a mortal. She was definitely the most appropriate to move around the mortals without resort to magic.

- Madame. I'm ready. - Her slightly martial attitude contrasted with the informal attire.

- Go ahead; I need not to remind you that you should not use magic except to protect the mortals. If your life is in danger, do not to use it. Our orders are strict. You will be our link, try to learn to use the transportation and communication systems of mortals. Watch and learn. If the situation continues we would need to learn from your experience. That's all, go ahead!

- Yes, madam.

She left to join the mortals to go to a place called Chiba.

Ghadril approached to speak privately with Lind.

- I do not understand how you can rely so much on mortals? They are so fragile and their life is so short.

Lind did not bother turning to see her comrade. Long years of sharing missions allowed Ghadril to question her authority without jeopardizing the chain of command.

- Certainly they are, yet they keep struggling. I've seen them to grow by beyond my expectations. In the time it takes for us to make a decision, they have gone from barely babbling a language to be able to help us. In addition, there is something very special about those three mortals.

- I've never paid attention to the history of this world; despite the younger goddesses seem fascinated with it.

Lind could not help a little smiling at the attitude of her old comrade in arms. Just recently she thought so.

- Then better be careful, mortals can change you, some of them are amazing. As for how fragile they are, better take care of the prisoners.

Lind gave Ghadril several metal discs. She read the content and looked at Lind in amazement. Lind commented:

- Any Valkyrie who arrived with this kind of prisoners would be proud of her achievements. Keiichi-san instead feels ashamed of not being able to do more. I have no doubt, one day; the mortals will give us big surprises.

* * *

In the spacious cafeteria at then Hongo Campus from the University of Chiba, where the physics laboratories resided, an old man was enjoying his tea while carefully reading an e-mail on his laptop. He wore the immaculate white coat of senior and high-level scientists. A broad smile lit his face as his eyes roamed restless and curious trough page after page full of calculations and equations. His attitude showed a great curiosity and made him look younger.

His reading was interrupted by the sound of the conversation of several people who came into the cafeteria. A female voice exclaimed:

- Did you were also cited by Professor Nambu?

The others nodded. The voice was from a woman aged about 40. She wore no makeup and her hair had a severe cut, but had restless eyes full of curiosity, that contrasted with the severity of her appearance. She also wore a white coat, but this denoted the wear and use from the researchers working in a laboratory. She greeted his colleagues with a quick nod and full of curiosity she continued:

- Excuse me; I cannot remember your names, so I will introduce myself first. Yukiko Ohta, associate professor, specialist in physics of condensed matter. I'm here because Professor Nambu said it was urgent and related to Dr. Shugahara, our local celebrity.

His colleague was a young man about 25 years, like many mathematicians and theorists he wore a brightly colored shirt, jeans and long hair, he was a person with an easy laugh, and said cheerfully:

- Ah ha! If Dry Shugahara is involved then it must something insane and brilliant. According to the rumors, Dr. Shugahara has been involved in some kind of archaeological marathon around the world. Archaeology blogs have never been so active. Strange crystals are mentioned, possibly radioactive, but there is no mention what type of radiation or any important detail. I'm sure we will soon have a flood of articles in scholarly journals. I confess I am very curious to know what's up. He has gained a strange reputation. Half of the students seem to believe he really does magic, especially considering the attractive woman he has been dating and that caused a tumult in the last Congress. By the way, I am Takashi Yoshida, Associate Researcher working in the area of high-energy physics ... and I also do not remember your names.

Those present laughed merrily. The third man had a sullen attitude; he looked a bit older than thirty-five, and seemed to have had a recent accident. He was limping slightly, he had a splint arm in a sling and his face still showed recent scratches, but that did not prevent his eyes shone with curiosity and even smiled upon the presentation of his colleague.

- Then you are not the only one. I am Shigeru Nakayama, also associate Researcher, and my area is Nano science. Look, there is Professor Nambu; I hope he would answer our questions. I have also heard strange stories about Dr. Shugahara. Even my friend Dr. Izuka Kawazu from the Institute of fuzzy logic seems fascinated with him, so that I would not miss this. As you can see, I had a little problem with a pressure chamber and will need to do a lot of paperwork to replace it, so let's hurry.

They came to the sitting man: Professor Yoichiro Nambu, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago and currently a visiting professor at Chiba. He made them a sign inviting them to sit along him.

- Thank you for coming despite the late hour. Professor Nakayama, I heard of your accident in the laboratory, so I did not expect you to come. You should be at the hospital treating your arm.

- It's not broken and I cannot afford to postpone the experiment in progress. Also, I am very curious to know the reason of this urgency. If Dr. Shugahara switched from studying Old Norse magic to modern physics, then there must be an interesting story.

Professor Nambu smiled at his curiosity.

- Dr. Shugahara soon will be with us and we hope he will explain us the reason for urgency.

- So you do not know? Nambu San - the woman said with a hint of irritation - doctor Shugahara is a noted ethnobotanist, he may have something to do with archeology and seems he has been very active in this field, but none of us is related to his area. I cannot imagine having to study magic potions or something like that.

Professor Nambu laughed at the comment, pointing to his laptop.

- Then I have a little surprise for you. A few months ago, Dr. Shugahara brought some curious crystals with extraordinary properties. He claimed they were an ingredient of an ancient magic potion - he turned to see the audience to enjoy their expressions of disbelief - I myself, confess it was hard to believe, but he is a very persuasive man and had convincing evidence, so eventually I sent them to one of my brightest graduate students at the US to investigate, Miss Jenny Rosenthal. - Then he pointed to his laptop - She recently sent me a very interesting report.

The scientists rose and rushed to see the display of the laptop. They studied it carefully as Professor Nambu showed them the report. After reading the conclusions, there was moment of silence, and then Professor Nakayama commented:

- The data are incredible, but the methodology seems impeccable, it says the results were verified with three separate experiments. Still, Ms. Rosenthal's conclusion seems to me, really insane.

Professor Nambu lit up his face with a broad smile; he was like a child ready to commit a prank and commented:

- Yes, I also think is crazy. The question then is: Is it crazy enough to be true?

Soon began a heated discussion among the specialists. The subject was exciting enough to let them forget why they were there. However, they were interrupted by the arrival of more people.

The newcomers seemed a bit out of place. They already knew doctor Shugahara, but the young man who accompanied him had some oil stains on his clothes and under his nails, like a mechanic, and was accompanied by a boy and a sweet and charming teen age girl.

Professor Nambu cheerfully greeted them.

- Dr. Shugahara. It is a pleasure to see you. I wonder what new surprises you have for us. The last thing you brought us will give us many years of work, and look; there are people who want to listen to you.

Dr. Shugahara was surprised at the number of people waiting for him. He greeted them, and his attitude showed his surprise. A bit abruptly, Professor Nakayama, asked him:

- Professor Nambu just showed us the extraordinary properties of this compound you provide him. After reading the report, I think you cannot have something bigger than that. Still I am very curious to know what you may consider as urgent to call all these specialists.

The doctor looked at him puzzled. In his urgency, he had forgotten to prepare what he was going to say to them. He needed their help, so he realized there was only one way to ask for it. He bowed slightly to them, took a formal stance, trying reflected the full status of a university professor and with a clear and calm voice said:

- This morning, these young people and I fought against several demons to save the lives of three goddesses. And this young girl is here, is a goddess, a Valkyrie!

A deep silence fell on all those present. Sentarō and Keiichi looked astonished at the doctor; they had never expected him to speak with such candor. There was obvious disbelief among the scientists. Professor Nakayama spoke in a stern voice, reflecting the feelings of all.

- I think I should retract my last words. Are you aware that if not for fame that precedes you, we would be taking this as a bad joke.

Professor Ohta continued with an ironic tone:

- Doctor, you have the reputation of never making a statement without proofs, not matter how strange they are. I'm dying of curiosity to know what proofs you have to support this. This young girl you claim to be a Valkyrie, will she make a show of magic? Something that cannot be attributed to the art of an illusionist?

- Unfortunately, this young girl had been forbid to do magic.

Professor Nakayama could not avoid a derisive snort at this statement and commented:

- So you do not have evidence?

- I did not say that. I just said that this young girl cannot do magic, but I can. Keiichi, can you give me Urd´s medical kit?

- Doctor, I mean, Kenji, are you sure about this? I think you have already said too much. I do not know if it's prudent.

The doctor sighed and pointed to his colleagues.

- Keiichi, look at them, we cannot ask them to help us without a complete understanding our reasons. I would act like them. As scientists, we are trained to question everything as principle. Any claim must be verifiable. We need their help so they deserve the whole truth.

Keiichi shuddered. Over the years he had tried to hide at all costs the identity of Belldandy and her sisters and the idea of talking openly to these strangers scared him. But he soon decided he would do anything to save the life of Belldandy and Urd, no matter how many celestial rules he had to break. Finally he took the small metal box with Urd´s potions. Keiichi looked into the eyes of the Dr. Shugahara and nodded. He had no more doubts and gave him the box.

- Professor Nakayama, I'm afraid you are the perfect subject for this test; please let me put this into your arm.

Professor Nakayama started, but was curious to see what kind of show would see. He approached Dr. Shugahara and extended his arm. He held it and put there one of the healing patches from Urd.

At the contact with the skin, the patch began to work and made a strange reaction. The astonished professor withdrew his arm and saw with amazement a glow that spread through his body. Then they all watched as the wounds on his face were erased. Professor Nakayama felt how the pain disappeared.

Then began to move his arm and hurriedly took off the bandages. He felt no pain, the bruising and swelling had disappeared. Then he noticed his limp also was gone. So he exclaimed in surprise:

- But what is this? ... It must be an illusion. Maybe it´s a drug that stimulates me and relieves me from feeling pain.

Professor Yoshida was approached him and commented...

- But none of us has touched the patch and we can see how the superficial wounds have gone ... There seems not to be an illusion.

Professor Nakayama examined carefully the places where the wound had been visible. There was no trace of them. So He replied:

- I confess it is very impressive, but you will understand that this must be reproducible before being accepted as evidence. Without a mechanism to explain what we have seen, this is not enough. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

- I understand perfectly. But I also must say that our mission is urgent. I ask you to accept it as a temporary hypothesis. Give me your help and you will get all the necessary evidence by yourself.

- How does this work? It cannot be really magic, but a natural phenomenon.

- Actually, I do not fully understand the mechanisms involved. If you want, instead of magic, you can call it: "unknown phenomena" - he said pointing to the laptop - but I can tell you the properties of those crystal are involved.

The scientist looked at each other, it was something they could not accept without stronger evidence, but Dr. Shugahara was noted for his detailed proofs, so Professor Nambu answered him.

- Really ... I did not expect something like this. I have a strong desire to get out of here ... But perhaps your "Hypothesis" could be enough insane to be true. What do you want from us?

- First, I need to reproduce this material, these are synthetic lunar rocks, and then we need to modify this material.

He took from Sentarō's hands, a cardboard box that had some bracelets. He handed them to Professor Nakayama, the specialist in nanotechnology. He examined them with curiosity.

- I am no expert in minerals, but this seems to be a compressed regolith. Not really a rock, but a dust conglomerate. You say it's a synthetic lunar rock? What kind? - He gazed into Keiichi´s eyes, a suspicion came across his expression - Is the type that is suspected to retain and absorb cosmic rays? Among the rocks brought back by astronauts discovered a few grams of material with very peculiar properties, the result of cosmic rays trapped into dust and then conglomerated.

Keiichi nodded a bit sheepishly, as an engineer, had never bothered to investigate more about the moon mineralogy, he only cared it worked.

- Interesting. But how do you manage to do it? Many people has tried and failed. It would be a very useful material; it can store certain types of energy, and has a peculiar crystalline structure. With nanotechnology we could manipulate the matrix and hence extract a large amount of energy.

Dr. Ohta said:

- I suspect that much of the dark matter in the universe is condensed in this way. I think is a Quasicrystal. We are talking about gaining an understanding the structure of dark matter and as a bonus, access to almost unlimited sources of energy. All this sounds too fantastic, and worth investigating.

Dr. Shugahara approached him and commented.

-Keiichi can show you how the methods already developed to synthesize it, but I'm sure you can improve them. - The doctor spoke to everyone - That's the urgency, we have less than 10 hours to synthesize a batch, and two lives depend on it. - Then paused, realizing he had their full attention, he needed to ask the most fantastic part- and also I have a greater challenge. We need a variant able to increase the capacity of the material in at least 5 orders of magnitude.

The scientists looked at him in amazement. Professor Ohta exclaimed:

- Five orders of magnitude! Have you any idea what you're talking about? How can you control that amount of energy? So that's what I had in mind from the beginning? I was curious why you asked for expertize in our different fields.

Dr. Shugahara bowed his head in agreement. Then profess Nambu, who had been listening quietly finally spoke, his eyes shone with an inner fire.

- I think Dr. Shugahara has challenge we cannot reject. I still have doubts, but his little demonstration, and the information sent to us by Ms. Rosenthal says there is something worth to investigate, no matter how insane his story seems to be. Do you agree with me?

Everyone nodded and started a lively discussion, finally professor Ohta spoke.

- We will work in two teams, Shigeru and I will make the synthesis of the regolith using your procedure, I am very curious to see the procedure how our friend Keiichi developed the procedure. The other team will examine alternatives to create derivative materials to get the requirements Dr. Shugahara needs. We do not know if possible, but we'll find out. As these two young, she said, pointing to Sentarō and Chrono - I think we have work for them. If this girl is what you really said, I'm sure we can learn from her.

A few hours later an exhausted Dr. Shugahara was lying on an old sofa in a corner of the laboratory of high energy physics. It was far from being at the same league of larger facilities such as Brookhaven and the LHC, but they certainly they were well equipped. With surprising speed, technicians and students had modified one of the ongoing experiments to irradiate one of the crystalline samples he was obtained with Urd.

He checked his watch and decided he could afford 20 minutes of sleep. The sound of people arguing, mounting equipment, moving materials, did not bother him because he was used to that. Certainly it was not his first long night in a laboratory and had learned to get the most of those small breaks. However he was interrupted by the arrival of Keiichi, Sentarō and the young Valkyrie. They seem to be happy. Several scientists came along with them. Professor Nambu greeted him.

- Dr. Shugahara! Please help me to convince this young man to continue with a Master's degree, I could get a grant for him. A young man with such skill with machines and equipment would be very useful. No one could guess this is the first time he works in our laboratory.

Keiichi felt a little embarrassed by the praise, since could not help thinking of Skuld. He was sure she could have done the same job in a fraction of time. He tried to make little of it.

- It´s not surprising, here you have the best things. Materials with analytical grade purity, the most recent equipment, fully computerized support and your people are really skilled.

Shugahara smiled at Keiichi´s embarrassment, he wished the best for him. - Keiichi is too modest. I must tell you his real skill are motor vehicles. And I do not think her boss would let him go. She is a difficult person to convince. Moreover, this young man is the most courageous people I know and has a kind and unselfish hearth.

Professor Nambu answered: - Then I would like to hear more about him. If Dr. Shugahara makes a statement like that, then this young men must be quite extraordinary.

Keiichi blushed; he did not expected to be in the spotlight. Dr. Shugahara rose from the old sofa, put his hand on his shoulders and told him:

- We have a couple of hours. Everyone here is committed to our goal, so I think they deserve to hear some of your story. Even I am very curious to know how all started.

A murmur of approval spread among those present, even Sentarō commented

- I would also like to hear how Skuld came to earth...

Then an unexpected voice was heard:

- I love telling stories, and in heaven the tale of Keiichi-san and the love for his Goddess is a famous story. If Keiichi-san is not offended, I could tell his story. He could correct me if feels something is wrong.

Everyone turned to see the girl, who expressed with a seriousness that made her look wiser. Her sincerity touched those present. Even the taciturn Nakayama approved and commented:

-I just order a couple of coffee thermos; I also would like to hear that story.

Everyone looked at Chrono, and then she began the story with a sweet voice: - "This is the story a young goddess from the Goddess Technical assistance office, who once took a telephone call ..."

The small crowd gathered around her, some sat on the old sofa, some on the floor and all gave their full attention.

The narrative of the young goddess had an air of naiveté which soon captivated the audience. Keiichi could not believe he was hearing his own story. He could not deny the facts were correct, but he felt the story painted a Keiichi greater than him. So finally interrupted to Chrono and unwittingly continued the story. Chrono stepped aside to listen to him.

His story, simple and without adornment or pretensions captivated his audience slowly he felt encouraged to tell his story to the end. He had never imagined being able to tell anyone about this. Somehow he felt relieved. Even if he knew his story was unbelievable, he realized they were paying full attention to his tale. He revived the beautiful memories of his love for Belldandy. He told them to the attack to the temple. He was so full of emotion and sadness about the uncertain future that nobody dare question the story.

Keiichi finally finished his tale and looked around. He expected to see ridicule or disbelief, but instead there was admiration, even Chrono was looking at him with eyes slightly moist. Perhaps the silence was the greatest compliment they could give to him.

Suddenly a little cough broke the silence. He was a young man with a plastic box and made announcement.

- We have the first batch; the properties of this material are really striking. Within hours we will have an improved version. We only need to refine some aspects of the procedure.

Keiichi, Sentarō and Kenji shouted for joy. Finally they had good news. The three hugged each other happily, to an audience that was still slightly skeptical, but no less moved. The Doctor exclaimed:

- It was faster than expected; this will give us time to move on. We need to take this to Lind as soon as possible.

Suddenly, another young student came to speak to Professor Nambu and announced:

- I came to tell you that we are beginning a test run. We duplicate what we believe is the deep structure of the crystal, the part that contains the energy. We will use only a few micro-grams, but this will tell us whether we are on the right track.

Professor Nambu saw some doubts in his student´s voice and asked him.

- Is there a problem?

He paused while looking around, being surrounded by senior scientific make him doubt about his own conclusions, but finally spoke.

- Yes I was reviewing the energy measurements, and they are high to be explained by the simple accumulation of cosmic rays. There must be a different mechanism.

The professor Nambu nodded, satisfied with his student conclusions.

- Good thinking, we need to be sure that we are working with the correct model.

Dr. Shugahara pondered at these words, that meant a considerable delay, but Professor Nambu was right. To do an experiment on erroneous grounds could be disastrous.

Keiichi looked at the Kenji with concern. The bracelets would allow them only to gain time, but were not the solution, and suddenly there seem and obstacle. Then remembered about Skuld, she simply would have gone ahead, without caring much about the problems, but that usually meant disaster. So he clenched his fists in frustration, but acknowledged that these men were right. He should have patience. Then saw a flash of anxiety and fatigue on the Kenjis´s face. He was used to consider Dr. Shugahara as an infallible man, and with flash of recognition knew he was only Kenji, a man like him who shared the same feelings. He felt the necessity to share with him the burden of their actions. So he spoke out loud as he imagined it would have expressed by the doctor.

- Go ahead; we look forward to the results. We will rest a few minute. And please ... Someone ask for more coffee.

The young man smiled at his words and said...

- It is coming; the cafeteria staff is already used to our schedules.

Suddenly they heard a scream...

- Interrupt the particle bombardment; we perceive an excessive energy reading.

Through the speakers was heard:

- We stopped the bombing, but the emission had not stopped, it seems to have surpassed the critical mass.

Another shout came from across the lab where a student looked at his console:

- It looks like a chain reaction. We must stop it, try to cool it down, increase the power to the superconductors. We will attempt a magnetic cooling.

Soon the lab was full of voices and cries as they exchanged information.

- The emission has not stopped; maybe they are not magnetic particles. We should try to use a buffer to slow the particles.

Another voice shouted from the other end, it was quavering because the fear:

- We're trying, but the radiation goes through the control rods as if they did not exist, they could be neutrinos or maybe scalar bosons.

- It does not stop, it continues to grow. Confirmed. It's a chain reaction, it´s growing exponentially, but we do not know where the energy comes.

Then from the speakers came the voice of professor Yoshida - Everyone! Get out of here! It does not respond, is surpassing the critical level

The great equipment at the center of the lab began to tremble. It was basically a particle accelerator using superconducting magnets to control a radiation beam. In the center of the equipment, the chamber which housed the sample began to emit a cloud of smoke as the plastic insulation and the paint was beginning to burn. Heat rapidly increased, the center emitted a cherry red glow and began to increase to an incandescent white-hot. Parts of the equipment began to melt.

All was confusion, a bold technician brought a big industrial extinguisher and began spraying the equipment, but it seemed useless. And another voice shouted: - It´s useless get out of the building.

Before they could, the equipment shook violently, shuttering the building. Concrete and glass fragments flew everywhere. The vibration of the equipment increased and suddenly ... There was a powerful flash and a loud bang was heard, throwing everyone to the floor.

Keiichi was among the first to react, he tried to rise and faced the center of the building, where there was a breathtaking view:

A huge blinding ball of light was floating in the space where it should be the container chamber. An explosion had occurred, but somehow it had been contained. He Looked closely and found the explanation.

The brightness was blinding, so he had to cover his eyes, yet he had been able to see a silhouette against the light. It was Chrono. She has used her physical barrier, the most powerful defense of a goddess, to contain the fiery explosion.

The young Valkyrie floated in the middle of the laboratory, her arms were extended while trying to control the invisible field that contained the incandescent material.

But he could see the effort on her face, and then she screamed:

- I do not know how long I can hold it. Get out of here.

Professor Takihashi was also shocked by the vision, but soon recovered and shouted back.

- It's so much energy that it could destroy the entire campus; there is no place where we can take refugee. We need another solution.

- I cannot resist!

Professor Takahashi had an idea, and cried:

- The roof of the building can be opened, let's open it, maybe she can release the plasma through it.

At hearing the word plasma, Keiichi had an idea. - That's plasma! Then it must be magnetic, if the superconductor magnets are working, maybe we can repel it upwards.

A technician cried:

- Let's try it. They are still working, but the heat is increasing and we may lose the liquid nitrogen. Let's hurry up. I'm starting to redirect the magnetic field.

Keiichi yell at Chrono. - We will try to repel it upward. Can you direct it toward the sky? We will try to help you to control it.

She seemed on the verge of collapse, but she answered him:

- I will try, but I've never done anything like that.

Professor Nambu cried:

- Open the roof, prepare the emergency coolers.

The roof of the laboratory had been designed to be opened to receive heavy equipment. With a maddening slowness, the dome began to slide. Meanwhile the heat and smoke activated the sprinklers of the laboratory. The falling water only added to the confusion.

Keiichi began to take control of the situation, finally yelled to Chrono:

- The roof is open, try to release the plasma toward the aperture. Maybe we could minimize the damage

Chrono was about to lose consciousness, but the hard training by Lind had taught to go beyond the limits of her body. She made a supreme effort to control her physical barrier to partially open it. But even with a partial opening, the plasma content was thrown to the sky, while the huge magnetic fields created by the humans prevent it from touch the wall. A supersonic thunder shook the place and smashed the windows, but the building stood, the plasma had been fired into the atmosphere and the electromagnetic emissions began to trigger alarms in tens of miles around, while the emergency services in the city of Chiba began to receive reports. Chrono having spent her last erg of energy fell unconscious.

Keiichi screamed and ran into her. Somehow he catch her, her body was incredibly light. Slowly the people in the lab began to react. Some had cuts from glass, others were limping and had some bruises, but apparently no one had been seriously wounded.

All came to meet the girl who had just saved their life, and asked for her state. Keiichi answered:

- She is not hurt, but used all the energy she had. She is no longer connected to Yggdrasil so she cannot recover by herself.

One of the students came neared to attend her, and with deep concern asked:

- Is she at risk? What can we do for her? It seems she is not breathing!

Keiichi looked anxiously at the doctor; he understood his dilemma and simply nodded, then called Sentarō:

- Sentarō, please give him the box with the bracelets...

The boy ran to get the box and took them to Keiichi; he took gently one arm of the girl and put a pair of bracelets. It was as if the goddess had received an electric shock. Her body shuddered and slowly began to breathe.

Slowly Prof. Nambu approached to Dr. Shugahara, looking with concern at the young Valkyrie, with a gasped voice commented:

- Doctor, I think after this, I am willing to accept your hypothesis. The doctor looked at him a moment and answered simply

-Thank you!

Suddenly phones began to ring; surely everyone would want to know what had happened. Professor Nambu called everyone and told them:

- Tomorrow we'll have to give a good explanation of what happened here. So far, we will report an unexpected venting of plasma. We will have time to make a better story. All of them were realizing they had a bruise with death, yet they were still alive, somehow it was exhilarating. The idea of making a fantastic story to hide something like that seemed ridiculous:

- We could say that Professor Yoshida attempted to operate the equipment ... - Cried a cheerful voice. After that statement, Professor Yoshida tried to protest...

- But this time I didn't touch anything ...- then saw the smiling faces around him, and stopped at the monumental joke.

- Prof. Yoshida is a great theoretical scientist, so it is not a bad idea, but I think a post Morten is more urgent. So let's found out what happened here.

Keiichi was devastated at the destruction and commented: - Have we failed?

Professor Nambu looked at the young man, and said quietly:

- Keiichi-san, in science no experiment is a failure, we have learned "how not to do it." I suspect that we found an unexpected phenomenon. This will delay us, but failures are part of the learning process.

- And the equipment?

- It can be replaced. There will be a lot of paperwork but what we have learned today will justify it.

Suddenly they heard a shout from one end of the lab. He was a young student and was jumping like crazy. For a moment everyone suspected that he had hurt his head and Dr. Shugahara had the glimpse of a tribal dance...

The student stopped and ran to Professor Nambu.

- Nambu-san, this is amazing! I'm doing a preliminary count of released energy. This exceeds any expectations we had. According to my calculations, this beats a matter anti-matter reaction.

They all looked shocked, that was an incredible statement. His companions questioned.

- Are you sure...?... What other phenomenon can generate more energy than the complete disintegration of matter...?

The young man was extremely excited, He could hardly say anything coherent, just erupted a series of data and fragments of equations that he could not complete, they heard words like: 1.4 TeV, higgs bossons, ten to eleven TeV, Minimal Supersymmetric extension... Professor Takashi put his hand on his shoulders and spoke to try to calm him down.

- Please, slow down, we cannot understand you. Take a deep breath and explain. What do you mean?

The young man finally calmed down and then in a whisper, as if it were a revelation, just said:

- Quantum foam! we hit Plank scale! We reached 10 to the sixteen magnitudes TeV!

A deep silence fell in the laboratory, only broken by the sound of the sprinklers and some electrical sparking. Keiichi saw the face of astonishment of those present, who seemed on the verge of a religious experience that he could not understand.

- What does it means? I do not understand, what is the Planck scale?

Professor Nambu, breathed deeply, and went to meet Keiichi. He pondered how to explain it and said:

- You've probably heard that our universe comes from the Big Bang. But do you know that what we think exists outside the Big bang and our universe?

- I do not know, I never given much thought about it.

- We believe that our universe is one of an infinite number of universes. But all these universes are born from something that can also be described as "nothing". There is no way to describe it in our language. It is a place where there is no space or time and yet there is something; imagine violent foam, a place of violent energy, chaotic and infinite. It is a void that is not empty.

Keiichi looked at him, it seemed incomprehensible, yet it made sense.

- I'm not sure to understand.

- Do not worry, I think nobody can really understand it yet, but we can describe its effects on our world.

Then Professor Nambu retired a few steps and hinted that he had to make an important statement:

- Keiichi-San, Dr. Shugahara, Sentarō. You asked to increase the energy up to 4 or 5 orders, but this would further than seventeen orders. One followed by seventeen zeros. That unfortunately means that we are not ready to handle something like that. We're talking about something enough to build or destroy a universe...

Keiichi looked stunned, and asked:

- So it's useless...

Nambu answered him with an emotion that made him look ten years younger.

- Useless no, quite the opposite, but I would not dare to repeat it without a deep understanding about what happened here. We had a bruise with the origins of time and space and this is what happened. - He pointed to the destruction around them. - we need to develop a model that allows us to understand this. We may need decades to achieve it.

Keiichi felt to faint, until he felt Kenji´s hand on his shoulder. Shugahara commented:

- Keiichi, even if it takes years, they have given us real hope. Maybe we were dreaming of finding a quick solution. At least we can keep them alive until we are ready. I waited ten years to meet Urd, I do not care does if it takes another ten years for her to recover.

Keiichi clenched his fists in a gesture of helplessness, but acknowledged that the doctor was right.

- Then, as long as necessary. I have swear to give my life for her, so it does no matter if it's a lifetime - he turned to face all the people around him and said. - Pardon my impatience. I think we put your life in danger because our hurry. You have done much to help us. I will be grateful with you for all my life.

Professor Nambu bowed his head in a respectful attitude, and with restrained emotion said:

-Keiichi-san! We are grateful to you, you have involved in something much bigger than we could have imagined. We will make it. We will keep working.

Dr. Shugahara said.

-We need to wait for the next batch of bracelets, since we will have to use the rest of this batch with Chrono, we owe her our lives. But as the next batch is ready, we will have to run with Lind, there will be barely enough time.

There was a murmur of approval. The scientists expressed their commitment to continue working and left them alone. Then Keiichi realized Kenji was meditating, he recognized that look, so he asked him:.

- I think you just had an idea. Is it as crazy as playing with the Big Bang?

Kenji smiled at him. Apparently they were beginning to understand each other.

- Perhaps even more insane. - He took Hild´s teardrop from his pocket and showed it to Keiichi and Sentarō, then said. - We may need to make a pact with the devil.

End of Chapter XVII

Notes:

- **"Professor Yoshida is an excellent theoretical."** As a nerd, I could not help it. There is a long tradition in physics that theoretical scientist break everything around them. It was said that Max Planck was so good theorist that it was enough for him to go near a laboratory for something to explode, and so this was stated on the reports.

- **Quantum Foam.** This is one of the deductions from string theory. Since in the universe of OMG it is said that the power of the gods is because their capacity to handle cosmic strings in 10 dimensions, then the cosmic foam must also be real in OMG.

- **Plank Limit**, or **Plank ****Scale**. Refers to both Plank´s time and distance. It refers to smallest distance and smallest time that can exist. The universe is granular and beyond that there are no dimensions of space-time.

- **TeV**. Tera electron volt. The LHC will reach only 7 TeV per beam at full power.


	18. Chapter 18: Preparations

**I have just realized I started to write this story more than a year ago. In this time many things have happened. My father died almost a year ago, and still seems like yesterday, since we just recently buried his ashes under his favorite three "to help him grow" as he requested.**

And at the same time I can see my older daughter and realize in just two years she will be at the University. Fortunately she still admires his crazy father who decided to start to write fan-fiction.

Many things happen in a year, yet this story had still many places to go, before it reaches the end I have envisioned. So I wish the best for those that have followed my so far. I will put my best effort to make it worth.

This chapter has little action, but i think there were many things that needed to be said before continue. So, please keep reading.

**Javier Delgado**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

**By Javier Delgado Rosas**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XVIII

**Preparations**

_-Dr., Dr. Shugahara. _Good morning

The doctor heard a sweet and distant voice. But he could not understand what she was saying.

- Dr. Shugahara is time to wake up.

The voice came closer, could he be dreaming? The voice was unfamiliar. He tried to open his eyes, but instead of darkness, he felt like a great flood of light was invading his brain.

- Ah! My head, what is this pain?

He heard his own groan as if he had shouted, his body ached, and his head ached, where was he? It was strange, he remembered that he had asked that question before, but the headache did not let him think, and then heard the voice again.

-Please wait, you have abused some of your body, let me help you.

Whose voice was that? He did not recognize her. Suddenly he felt warm and delicate hands touching his head. He had a **déjà vu**, that it had happened before and then the woman began to sing something that sounded like a prayer, it was monotonous and yet mesmerizing. It was something familiar.

Gradually, his headache began to dissipate. But his confusion remained.

He tried to open his eyes again, slowly since he feared the flash would appear again, but instead perceived the penumbra that precedes dawn. All was surrounded by soft red glow as if the first rays of the sun were trying to announce his impending arrival.

Finally, in the shadows he began to distinguish a feminine silhouette, he exclaimed - Urd! - Then tried to get up but was weak, then realized the women had very short hair, so different from the beautiful long white hair of his Goddess. Finally he recognized her and then everything came to his mind. His body shuddered as the memories of the past few days were mixed together: the battle, the sight of wounded and battered Urd, waking in the middle of a squadron of Valkyries, having been ready to die for touching the structure of space-time...

It was so hard to accept that all that had happened. His world had turned upside down.

He now realized that this woman could not be Urd. She also had a beautiful female form but did not move with Urd´s flirtation and sensuality; instead had an almost military stiffness in her movements was difficult to decipher her expression.

- You are Othala! What happened? Why am I here?

He heard a sigh of relief from the women, his body ached but realized it was only because he had overslept; slowly the fatigue was fading away. As his body began to relax a familiar feeling invaded him, it was the total relaxation after a stressful experience.

- Doctor Shugahara, calm down, you will soon be well; I began to understand how your bodies work. A little more magic would have helped but we must avoid using it. I had to use one of Urd's potions to make you sleep. When Urd recovers, I will have a long talk with her, my opinion about potions has changed.

Potions? - Potions? Urd? - He just remembered to have given the bracelets to Lind, and then nothing.

- Urd! How is she?

- She is stable, thanks to you. You arrived just in time, we now have enough energy for several days and thanks to you, we do not have to worry about running out of energy. You're people assured us that we have a constant supply.

- My people? Have you talked with people from the University?

Othala could not help smiling at his concern, the situation promised to be interesting.

- Those people respect you; several young people came to see how you were and also wanted to know about Chrono´s health. Lind was not very pleased, her commands are to pass unnoticed, but could not refuse their visit. They are very interesting mortals. Their curiosity and their passion is moving. I hope to see them again. But you will have to talk with Lind; she thinks everything is out of control. She is a great warrior but all this is outside her experience.

Shugahara tried to imagine what would have been that meeting between lot of curious scientists and warrior goddesses. But it might be the best, I feel we can trust them and we need allies. Here was something he had to take note, Othala spoke with great familiarity about Lind, and apparently she was not directly under her command. That would greatly facilitate communications. Then he remembered that he had a painful question to ask.

- So the new bracelets have worked?

Othala nodded but still she some expressed concern that Dr. Shugahara interpret correctly

- But ... Still, not enough is it?

- True, bracelets provide us with a lot of energy, even more than I expected, but still not enough to repair their containment field. But you must be more careful. We never imagined what you would intend to do, or that mortals had such skills. What Chrono told us is impressive.

- How is she? That brave young girl saved our lives. We were fortunate to have her with us.

- Still weak, but stable. You did well in placing the bracelets immediately. Fortunately, her body was not damaged, despite having used all their energy. If the fields that support ourselves in this universe begin to weaken it could eventually collapse. She also owes you her life.

Dr. Shugahara tried to get up, but his body still refused. It was as having run a marathon, and in a way he had.

- What happened to me? I cannot remember. We brought the bracelets to Lind, I was very tired and then I cannot remember more.

Othala finally helped him to get up.

- You were happy, but exhausted; none of you were yet fully recovered from your last experience and were abusing your bodies. So I decided to use one of Urd's potions, simply I could not convince you to rest...

- How much time has passed?

- A complete rotation of your planet, what you call a day, just enough for you to recover properly. And I do not accept protests. I am the healer of this team and you are now under my care.

The Doctor wished to complain but this woman spoke with authority, then his stomach made an unkind sound and he felt ashamed.

- That's a good sign, let me take you with Keiichi, he is already waiting.

- Wait, what about Skuld. If I recall, she was just exhausted. She had no physical damage.

Othala serene expression changed to one of concern.

- She is already well, but I thought it would be better not to wake up her yet. Her world is shattered. Her two sisters are wounded and their lives in danger, part of the place she considers home is destroyed, the connection with Yggdrasil is broken - Othala paused, as if searching for the right words - And those two droids, that the young Sentaro was explained to me she regarded almost as living beings, are destroyed.

Othala put a strange emphasis on the word "droid" and "alive". It was as if she found it disturbing. Shugahara mentally filed the information, but was not sure what the problem was.

- Yeah, I remember her androids had artificial intelligence and I think they might have passed the Turing test without problems. - Then paused trying to remembering. - The people of Fuzzy Logic Institute had been working with Skuld; perhaps they have a backup of their memories. Maybe it could be possible to restore their consciences.

Othala got a little stiff, there was something she disliked.

- They are synthetic intelligences. I cannot understand how to you accept so calmly. Skuld should have not been allowed to create them.

The Dr. was surprised at the categorical rejection from Othala, but was too tired to pursue the subject; there was something more important and decided to change the subject.

- Please, Can I see Urd?

At that time, several Valkyries arrived at the room surrounding him driven by curiosity. They were very beautiful and youthful-looking women but also bore a proud and dignified poise. For the first time since he had met them, he had the luxury of examining them in greater detail. It was evident their apparent age was an illusion. While they looked young he realized their ways suggested they were much older.

They moved with ease and security, their movements were precise and elegant, he found femininity but no sign of weakness. After witnessing what the young Chrono had done, he had no doubt that they should were true warrior goddesses.

He felt strange at being the center of their attention, he felt ashamed before these beings that looked powerful and perfect. Beings who may regard him as a smelly and sweaty primate. But then he remembered Urd´s love. Knowing a goddess, the beautiful Urd was able to love him, gave him courage to face these goddesses.

He breathed deep and faced them; he could feel their curiosity but also sensed a certain attitude of respect for him. Suddenly one of them approached him and touched his face. Another one touched his clothes and then felt his muscles, and then the others came and began to examine him.

However, he perceived no offensive attitude, they were just curious; apparently they didn't know many humans. Finally one of them commented:

- So this is a mortal! I had never touched one. Your skin feels strange; I had never touched anything like it. I thought you would be more fragile, and never imagined that mortals would able to develop their own magic. As Chrono told us, is crude and primitive, yet powerful.

The first one, who had touched his face, commented:

- Shugahara-san, you have a beautiful aura. Even between gods, few have one as beautiful. It´s like the aura of those other two mortals. I'm beginning to understand Belldandy and Urd.

Shugahara could not help but blushing at the words of this beautiful being. Othala looked angry.

- Leave him alone, he's my patient.

But Dr. Shugahara realized there was only curiosity on them.

- Othala, please let them be, I know they are here to help us and if I serve to satisfy their curiosity, then that would be a small contribution from me.

One of them commented:

- We only know of mortals from out studies and simulations and it´s not the same as meet one. And Othala did not allowed us to be near the other two.

- Okay, but only a few moments, they are more fragile than us.

One of them asked abruptly.

- Knowing that your life is so short, is it not scary?

Dr. turned to see a serious-looking young woman, he guessed from her demeanor she could be one of the older ones.

- Of course it scares us, which is the reason why we have invented so many religions and philosophies. But I think most of us have accepted it as a natural consequence of our existence.

- You look so fragile and yet your life seems so full of experiences and emotions, I think I feel a certain envy for you.

The doctor stayed thoughtful for a moment and commented - Perhaps knowing our lives are so short it makes us live more intensely.

Another of the Valkyries, with a younger attitude commented - I have lived a thousand times more than you, and yet I found some wisdom emanates from your words. I hope to have a chance to talk more about it.

Othala then interrupted them.

-You will have time to talk and admire him later, now he should eat, and you also have to learn to do it.

The one that had been touching the Doctor´s face turned around and said with some indignation.

- Eat? That is a strange way of absorbing energy. I thought that with the bracelets we would not need to. The last time I ate something, it took months before I could forget it.

Othala could not help but laughing.

- The Emergency ration pack from a Valkyrie is not the best example of food that can be. What mortals use to eat actually tastes better? You are fortunate, in the early times, when it was easy to be isolate from Yggdrasil sometimes we had to eat stranger things - Then she turned to the doctor and he told him. - Dr., I will help you to go to Keiichi's room and arrange your feeding.

- Othala, Please, I want to see Urd first.

A soft murmur of approval emanated from the group of Valkyries and before he could protest, Othala carried him in her arms as if he weighed little more than a baby and took him along with Urd. He spent some time speaking to the beautiful figure lying unconscious. He knew she could not hear him, but he could not find another way to let out his feelings. He felt as if had failed, but still was not defeated. So, having the group of Valkyries as silent witnesses he vowed to continue fighting while he had life left.

Othala finally interrupted him and took him to the kitchen, where Keiichi was. He could not help thinking how fragile that he should appear before these goddesses yet he was resolute on his vow. As he left the room he heard one of them commenting. - I have never seen feelings so deep, even if mortals are so fragile. I am beginning to understand why so few gods are allowed to be near them.

Lind looked with disapproval at the group. At least her first goal, which had been to take away the fear from the minds of the younger Valkyries, had been met, but the part about fighting without magic was a disaster.

Lind acknowledged that she had never taken very seriously the idea of fighting without using magic. Instead, each day she had tried to fight with more powerful magic, but now the ban on magic could put her squadron in a serious setback, since she had never contemplated how dependent on the magic they were.

In the desolate courtyard that had been the gardens of the temple, she had established a perimeter of cancellation of magic where they could not use their powers even if they wanted, the use of magic was so natural for them that it was difficult to avoid.

She had divided her squad in pairs, and they were trying to fight each other, with much enthusiasm but with little success. After several encounters where both opponents on both sides fell to the ground, even the taciturn Lind had to turn away to avoid laughing. She would have to find another way to get her squad into shape.

But this simple exercise had worried her. She had been reviewing the Urd´s magazines and other materials that were in the temple and everything seemed incomprehensible. To stay unnoticed in the world of mortals promised to be the most difficult mission on her life and there was the problem that already many people who knew about their presence. The people of that place called "University" knew too much, and also the presence of these young mortals could lead to problems with some members of her squadron. But it was too late to erase their tracks.

She felt out of her element and that was something she disliked. Sooner or later they would have to leave the temple, but the thought of dispersing her squadron in the world of mortals was not very attractive, and she was sure that the incident at the University would quickly attract the attention of more mortals.

She finally decided to change tactics, and look for answers. She turned around and gave an order to her squad to finish the exercise.

- We have much to learn, but it's enough for now. We must now work to rebuild this place. Remember, we cannot use magic. This was a beautiful garden and her owner is going to feel very bad when she sees it, we will try to rebuild it. Get out your weapons, you have to remove and pulverize rocks, level the floor, and then look for vegetation to cover it. I remember this place as it was, it had some special magic and can be our home for a while. Go on.

At least that seemed to work better. To attack the lava and reduce it to the sand and gravel would give her time to plan the next step.

She sat meditating, while ignoring the noise around her. While she was careful not to show it, she had been worried about Chrono, especially when the mortal had arrived with the unconscious girl. Othala would have said she was becoming soft and maybe she was right. In this place her goal for getting more powerful and stronger had been met when she had been able to reunite her twin angels, thanks to Keiichi and Belldandy. Now she saw the young faces of her squad. Only a few of her original squad had survived the wars of the chaos and most of them had left to try to heal their deeper scars. Only Othala and she had stayed. The women of her squad were very powerful, they were the best between goddesses, yet they none of them had seen real war. They were proud and would have been surprised if they knew that Lind regards them as her girls... And she was fond on the younger one, Chrono, who fortunately was not in danger. That girl had acted bravely.

Then she remembered with mixed feelings the explanation of what had happened. It was a shock that mortals had bruised with such energies at its disposal, she must forbid them to try that again, but then she remembered something. She should be in heaven helping to solve any possible crisis. Then she had a wild thought, Could these mortals help her to return?

Meanwhile, in a suburb of Nekomi, the screams of frustration of a woman could be heard.

They came from an abandoned building where Marler had made her headquarters. Surrounded by a magic shield was a strange room. The place was full of objects that she had taken from many parts of this world; it seems everything inspired her curiosity. It was a bewildering mixture of objects, some of them could be classified as junk, and others as works of art, but for the owner there seem to be no difference. Gaming machines, along with ancient vases, broken down electronic equipment along incunabula and old manuscripts with manga and comics. Everything seemed to be equally important to the collector of all this.

The owner was sitting in what looked like a throne. Marler was reviewing all the data Walharen had sent her, and so far they were completely useless for her. She was surrounded by a dozen screens of information that quickly appeared and vanished with new data. The young demon had been particularly adept at obtaining the information; unfortunately none of it had been useful.

In addition, the detectors at the temple, showed no signs of life. There was also no record that the Norns had gone to heaven. She had even considerate the idea of traveling to heaven and humiliate before their enemies, in order to get Urd´s help, but even now seemed impossible, communication with the Heaven was suspended. Only a few low-level communications with Heaven seemed to be working, but everything else was blocked, she had never seen a communications blackout at this level. Something very important should be happening. Right at this moment Hild was dying and not even their enemies could be reached.

She felt as if a crushing weight were over her as her range of options became smaller. Hild´s disappearance was seeing with increasing suspicion and could not be hide much longer. Even now, aspirants to her position were already beginning to form factions. The resulting chaos could be dangerous. She uttered a new cry born from her frustration, since even if her options seemed to be exhausted, she could not afford to give up. She didn't know her cries would be answered in the most unexpected way.

Doctor Shugahara finished eating, it had not been a great meal, but hunger was a good seasoning and he was used to eating strange food. He smiled gratefully at Keiichi, who smiled back with some timidity. It was clear that to be a competent engineer did not imply to be a good cook. But he thought that could be solved, this young man learned quickly, and with a sight remembered there was a website dedicated to teaching cooking to engineers.

Fortunately for Keiichi's self-esteem, there were also three Valkyries who seemed to enjoy the culinary efforts of the young men. It has been more difficult to teach them how to eat those foods using chopsticks and the proper etiquette. Shugahara contributed with his Anthropology studies as he explained the different cultural elements associated with the way humans eat. The goddesses listened incredulously as they discovered food imply more than simply recharge energy... If these women expected to move into the world of humans, they needed to learn much more, Dr Shugahara smiled at the thought that this was not be very different from the Amazonian Shaman going through the streets of Tokyo.

Finally the Valkyries left, they seemed happy after learning "how to eat". They had discovered the experience was not unpleasant. Dr Shugahara could not refrain to smile that if they were happy after testing Keiichi´s cooking, he did not want to taste their "emergency rations"

Finally the two men finished washing the dishes and left the kitchen as clean as possible, this was the Belldandy´ favorite place and both felt it was like her personal shrine.

They avoided speaking about the current events until they were in Keiichi´s room. While both appreciate Lind´s efforts, they knew they would have to do things she would not approve. They sat for a while and stayed silent for a while, finally Shugahara asked

- How is Sentaro? I had promised to take him with his parents, I feel bad for not keeping my promise.

- His parents were here. Fortunately they arrived at the same time as the people from the university. The presence of the scientists and a group of women that look like as if they came from some strange military department, convince them that something important was happening here... They will allow Sentaro be here all the time it takes. He will be here after classes. I told them about how great their son they have, but of course I did not tell them everything. I do not think they are ready to accept the reality.

Dr. Shugahara nodded approvingly, Keiichi turned out to be a more mature person than he had expected.

- So let's summarize what we know. The story you told in the lab helped me to understand, but it´s not enough. So we know there are three different universes and beings we call gods and demons. One of them seems to be the one which gave rise to the legends of what we call "heaven" and the other world, its rival, is what originated the concept of the underworld. But I do not really think they have that much to do with our legends and myths. Actually they are two universe and they compete for a share of our world. However, I do not understand why those beings we call gods and demons may have an interest in our world.

Keiichi thought for a moment and recalled the explanation Hild had given about contracts between the demons. He tried to collect his thoughts...

- The world of Hell has a leader...

- Her name is Hild? - Interrupted Shugahara.

How did you know? - asked a surprised Keiichi.

- It´s mentioned in Urd´s palimpsest, seems Hild is a very important figure for her. But I do not understand what her relationship with Urd

Keiichi hesitate before speaking, somehow it was almost like a bad joke to tell him that the mother of the woman he loved was a real demon, and nothing less than their leader.

- Hild is Urd´s mother. Urd is half god and half demon. But she chose to become a goddess.

For the first time since he knew the Dr, Keiichi saw him lose his composure ... but he quickly recovered.

- Urd is half demon? How is that possible? Gods and demons are from different universes.

He became silent for a moment, he felt flooded by ideas, the news was absolutely fantastic, it seemed impossible and against all logic.

- They must belong to two different universes, so they should be completely different species. They should n´t be able to ... Even more, How is it that Urd could choose to be God and not a demon?

Keiichi began to understand what the doctor was pointing out, and remembered something important.

- There was an occasion when Belldandy became a demon for a while...

- How? - Exclaimed in surprise ... Belldandy became a demon?

- There is a great super computer that governs Heaven and even some aspects of our universe.

- You mean Yggdrasil? In the old norm legend is a giant tree but in the manuscripts is describes like a supercomputer.

Yes. Once it was jammed and Belldandy was assigned with a demon license instead of Goddess, so she was bound to act like a demon.

- So the system could assign her to become a demon? - The doctor closed his eyes, and meditates a moment ...- That means that gods and demons must have a common origin and that is why they are so similar. But why they attacked Urd and Belldandy? Did Hild attempt to kill her own daughter?

- I knew Hild, she is a terrible person and inspires fear, and she does not have many qualms about attacking someone, but this was not her doing. Once Hild helped us when Urd requested and she only asked for something in return.

- What she asked?

- To be called "mother" by Urd. It seems it´s very important for her. - Kenji digested this information; he had read about Hild in the Palimpsest, but that as a distant figure, to perceive that fearsome figure as Urd´s mother was difficult to assimilate. Keiichi had made a pause to allow Kenji to digest this information, and then he continued. - Urd is now a goddess, but Hild wants her heir back. I am sure Hild is not behind this attack, Urd commented it was more like a rebellion against Hild. Even the demons that attacked us said something about to set an example against Hild's actions.

- But could it be that those rebels were the same that killed the Giörel? According the testimony of the young Indian, her murderers were not demons. Keiichi was truck back by the question, he had assume they were the same, but then remembered even Lind agreed Giörel murders were not demons. If that was true there could still be danger. But at least, this time Lind was with them. Something really strange was happening. Kenji closed his eyes while pondering all he knew info, the opened them, they have a fierce intensity. - It doesn't matter. In either case we need to contact Urd's mother. The crystal that saved us belongs to Hild. I am a sure her mother has the power to help us.

- But Urd does not love her mother, and Hild may ask for Urd to became a full demon.

Kenji was surprised by this new bit of info - Can Urd be transformed from goddess to a full demon?

- I do not quite understand, but seems that if Urd calls Hild as "mother" then she will lose her goddess part and become a full demon. I think there is a program set into Urd. - A Program? - Yes, magic spells are really programs set to alter the structure of the universe and run by Yggdrasil. Gods and demons are code, and programs can be put into them. They can even be encrypted to avoid detection.

Then Shugahara was stirred; he remembered his dialogue with the inhuman intelligence residing in the crystal. It had asked: "do you wanted to remove the seal?"...

- Keiichi, you know what is a seal between the demons?

Keiichi thought a moment and commented. - Gods or demons have seals to avoid using their full power, but also can be used to block or hold a prisoner, like the disk we used to seal the demons that attacked us. - So those were seals? Yes, there are seals, and also limiters that prevent them from using their full powers. Belldandy is so powerful she could destroy the earth by accident, so she uses limiters to hold her power. The earrings she uses are her limiters, and she neither must nor remove them without permission or under great danger, like the last battle. If we have contact with heaven again, she will be questioned, but now that's the least of my worries.

Kenji swallowed hard; he had realized the meaning of the crystal question.

- When he implored to the crystal to save Urd, it had asked to remove a block. Could it be to remove her goddess limiters? That gave him great power to Urd. Was that her goddess limiters?

Keiichi corrected. - Urd was already a first class goddess and she had removed her limiters, but still was not enough

First class goddess? I remember Skuld told me Urd was a second class goddess. What does it means?

- When Urd went to heaven, Lind temporarily assigned her to be first class goddess, as if Lind knew something. And during the battle Urd removed her limiters.

- So if she was already a first class goddess, those extra powers...

- Were her demon powers, perhaps Urd is now a demon... - The doctor shuddered at the possibility, but something told him it was not the case?

- Maybe she has access to full demon powers ... still I believe she has not become a demon. When the crystal acted I could perceive her feelings, at that time I did not understood, but now I know better. I could perceive her inner struggles between her goddess and demons part. She is really a very strong woman. I know she is still a goddess, but then she has now demons powers.

- So, Hild put a block on Urd, probably "mother" was the keyword. If Hild finds that the lock is broken and she is not a demon, it will be harder to convince her to help us. Moreover, you must not forget this crystal has tied you to a contract, and there is no way to break it.

- What is a contract? - Kenji had a sudden image of piece of parchment written in blood... But then remembered Keechi's contract with Belldandy. Like the one between you and Belldandy?

- Something similar, but being a contract with gods, I am not demanding anything in return, yours is a contract with a demon, and that is similar to a commercial contract. You will have to return back something equivalent to the gift you were given.

- So I'm tied to a contract with Hild...? She is the owner of the crystal.

The doctor closed his eyes trying to understand the implications

- Then I can ask to Hild to complete my full request which was to save Urd.

Keiichi blinked at that bold statement- I do not think it will be so easy. What on earth could you offer to Hild which is equivalent to Urd´s life?

- But she is her mother ... In any case, perhaps we can negotiate something.

- Negotiate? Demons are very strict. Using that crystal you are committed to giving something back to Hild. I do not think you're in a position to negotiate.

Keiichi felt some exasperation; it seemed as if Kenji could not grasp the situation.

Kenji smiled back and said - Believe me, I have some ideas. Maybe they are wild, but I think they can work. But first we have to contact Hild. How can we contact with Hell?

Keiichi realized that Kenji would never quit, while he still had doubts his respect for his senior did not allow him to express them. So he thought for a moment. There was the telephone line. He knew the goddesses could communicate with heaven and Urd has used to communicate with Hild, but communications with heaven were down, and he doubted Lind would let them try. Yet he had another idea. Maybe it was as wild that Kenji´s ideas...

- There is a possibility, but is dangerous and I am not sure if it´s possible.

- You know there is no danger I would not face for Urd´s sake! Now, tell me your idea.

- There is a demon, called Marler.

- Marler? Isn´t she the demon who was with Lind investigating the Giörel´s death.

Keiichi nodded.

- Exactly, she is the representative on earth on behalf of Hild and as such she is Belldandy and Urd´s enemy.

- So, does she hate them...?

- It's more complicated than that, Urd and Marler were friends as children. It is not hate; it has more to do with the duty.

- They are rivals because of duty? It's an interesting concept. But how can we contact Marler? Perhaps Lind could communicate with her; I think she has the capacity to call her.

- NO, Lind would not help on that. She is a warrior, and we are in an emergency situation She would not trust Marler. We'll have to look for her on out won, but I think there is something that can help us... But first I have to repair the temple´s power lines and phone, and then I will try to communicate with Heaven.

- But how will you do that? You told me Lind cannot do it.

Keiichi searched under his clothes and took out Urd´s medallion of Urd. He put his fingers on the signs and said:

- This is the language of Yggdrasil, and now I can read it without problems. I found It´s so easy, that I had not realized I was reading and alien language, I have been thinking a lot about it and I think the cause is there.

He taped on his old computer.

- This computer, due to something Urd did to it, was able to contact with Yggdrasil.  
The first time I enter, could not read the language, but something happened, something was downloaded to my computer and then it did something to me. Now I can understand ancient languages. I am sure there is something there, in this machine and it has magic.

- Magic, yes, technology so advanced we call it magic. So you think we can find the solution in that machine?

- This machine gave me access to personal information about Belldandy, I learned so much about her, that I cannot understand why she is with me. The same way Urd was meant to be the ruler of Hell, Belldandy was chosen before birth to be Kamisama, the ruler of Heaven. I think this machine still has contact with Yggdrasil, and maybe it could help us to contact Marler. It has shown me so many marvelous things, that i am sure it will work. So today I will spend the day repairing the electric and telephone lines.

Kenji was relieved, Keiichi was giving alternatives.

- Excellent, we must kept trying ... Then; as you made repairing I will use rest of the day to do something important...

- Important? Like what?

- I think here are many people here that need cooking lessons...

That answer to Keiichi left speechless ... for a moment he thought Kenji was out of his mind, until he saw his wide smile and recalled his uncommon sense of humor, that sense of humor that seemed to have been his secret way to Urd´s hearth, then booth look directly to each other and the two men began to laugh. After those overwhelming days it was like a dam overflowing, all that was needed was a laugh that let them release the tension from the past days. . Finally they managed to stop laughing, and they embraced. Both had a common goal, and both were willing to give everything, if they had to face the great leader of Hell, it would no matter, and they would do it.

Their world seemed a little brighter.

* * *

**End of Chapter XVIII**

* * *

**Notes:**

**"Cooking for engineers": **This is a real website, maybe with the help of this site; Keiichi could become really a good cook.

**Incunabula: **I imagined that for someone alien to our world, the first books printed, and the latest manga, would have the same value. I accept this is not a very original idea, but I imagined Mara´s place, not very different from wall-E store room.


	19. Chapter 19: Aura

**My usual warning:**

_English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. _  
_If you find a passage that offends your grammatical sensibilities, please let me know to fix it.  
_  
_Please, I need some reviews to have more input to be able to correct my mistakes._

**Thanks in advance :)**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.** **By Javier Delgado / AKA Elnahual**

_**Fan fiction based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.**__**I do not claim to own anything.**_

**Chapter XIX**

**Aura**

Jenny Rosenthal was enjoying her first cup of coffee of the day. It was a ritual she enjoyed because it gave her some time to sort out her ideas. Her mind roamed free while her hands were doing the same daily ritual: Boil water; add the right amount of coffee, brew for a couple of minutes until the optimum flavor was attained, strain and serve. She would never resort to something as cheap as instant coffee.

Soon the aroma of freshly brewed coffee flooded her cubicle and then could not avoid a shudder of excitement, saying aloud - "My cubicle".

The day before she had received the surprise, apparently the reports she had been writing about her work with the crystals had made an impression. And it was not just the cubicle. Now she had assistants! Students that were only slightly younger than her. She knew soon everyone would know what she was cooking up something very important.

She was barely managing to contain her emotions, so she took the first sip of coffee. It was a strong blend, and filled her palate with the aromatic and slightly bitter flavor while the caffeine was began to get into her system. She enjoyed that feeling. Then examined the place with her eyes. It was not an elegant place and was almost empty except for a Spartan desktop and her laptop, but still, it meant so much to her career. For a moment she set free her fantasies and thought that maybe that the Nobel was no so far away, perhaps less than 10 years.

Suddenly she moved her hand to dissolve those phantasies as if they were just smoke in the air, and then hardened her features. It was time to start working, if everything was on schedule then the synthesis of the crystal should have started and today she would have a first batch. She smirked at the idea of the old fashioned crystallization process used in chemistry, it was ... she searched for the correct word, "almost medieval"... she could not suppress a feminine and soft laugh.

Now she took a few sips of coffee savoring it quite deliberately, because she was also savoring her moment of triumph. Finally she left the cup and turned on her laptop. She was sure there would be some kind of congratulatory note or something. But then she noticed the email program was very busy while downloading dozens of e-mails, some of them seemed to be very large. She realized many of them seemed to be repetitions; apparently someone had been trying to contact her. It seemed it had been a bad time to lose her phone, but nobody could blame her for having a little celebration...

She examined the output and noticed there were no mails from Professor Nambu. Instead she found several mails with Japanese characters. Fortunately the names were also in roman characters. The names were vaguely familiar, it was hard to remember those Japanese names, and then found a name she recognized. It was from Shigeru Nakayama and almost jumped in surprise, then recognized another name, Takashi Yoshida. She had studied the work of those scientists but had never expected to be in direct contact with them. Then noticed all the mails had something in common, they came from Chiba University.

She could not avoid a whistle of surprise as she began to remember the other names. At least four senior scientists had been trying to contact her!

Finally she found the first mails. She decided to start with the email from Takashi Yoshida.

Nervously she took another sip of coffee and began reading professor Takashi's E-mail, his smooth English was easier to read than the others, then almost fell from her chair, the first sentence was a direct order to stop her work !... An order? How dare he!. Even if he was a senior scientist, he had no authority over her...

But the mail included several photographs and soon her indignation died out. They were from a destroyed laboratory and followed a detailed explanation of the incident at the Hongo Campus of the University of Chiba.

Eagerly she began to read the account and slowly her indignation was turned into fear.

There had been a terrible explosion in the Hongo campus laboratory and it had been produced by irradiating a few milligrams of what she called "Dilithium Crystals".

Quickly she looked at her watch; her face took a pale tint. Her heart began to race as she jumped from her chair. There was barely time to stop the work she had commissioned to her newly acquired assistants. The synthesis of 50 grams of crystals!

Forgetting all dignity, Jenny ran screaming from her cubicle.

At her desk, the now forgotten coffee began to cool.

* * *

In the grove surrounding the temple Toringinkan, two figures moved stealthily approaching a tree. One looked forward and pointed to a branch in a tree. The other figure, Lind, nodded at her signs, then with inhuman skill began to climb another tree; it was as if her body had no weight. She could have levitated but did not want to use magic that could trigger an alarm. Then she walked along a branch extending towards the other tree, it barely bent under her weight. She walked with the grace of a ballerina toward the end of the branch, and soon she was able to get a better view of the object. Lind spread her hands and with her superhuman senses concentrated on the object that was in the branch. She saw it was alive with energy from a chemical source, and was emitting an encoded electromagnetic radiation signal. She attempted to question the object but it had no intelligence, it had just a blind purpose, then sent a mild energy boost to test it, but felt an alarm was about to trigger, so she stopped and stood still for a moment. The object could be primitive, but it worked well. Finally she performed a passive scan of the object and memorized its settings. After that, she retraced her way and soon was along the younger Valkyrie. She made a gesture to remain silent and commanded her to leave.

Once they were at a safe distance Lind gave the order to stop and told her companion.

- Ghadril, You were right, that is an artifact of human origin.

- Yes. So humans are spying on us?

- No, not humans, I noticed a small residue of demonic magic.

- A demon? Why would a demon use human technology?

- It must be a very clever demon. A spell, a magical object, or anything related to magic would be easy to spot for us. But human technology is everywhere and it's too new, so we know little about it, that is why we would have not have detected it earlier. Did you find it by accident?

- Yes, I was looking for seeds and bulbs to re-plant the garden, as you ordered.

- She showed her a small sack of bulbs and seeds that had been collecting. - Fortunately I think I was outside its field of vision.

Lind looked towards the temple. The protective shield that had been placed by Belldandy to hide any activity in the temple was still active and mimicked a perfect copy. Despite the destruction and the large energies released from the outside everything seemed normal.

Lind thought for a moment. This surveillance could be related to the attack on the temple, and since the field was still working, the attacker probably didn't know about her and her squad. Perhaps they could get them by surprise... She could not help thinking that the attack on Giörel, the attack on the temple and now the loss of contact with Heaven, were related. There could only be one place where all this would come from, "Hell." If there was a lurking demon they should catch it.

- We need to find out where the surveillance information is being sent.

- Lind, while we do not know much about human technology. I believe this device is using the human communication network called internet. It may be primitive, but their tracks are well hidden.

Lind smiled, her companion looked with surprise, since they had been isolated from Yggdrasil, Lind seemed to smile more easily, that was disconcerting, her next words were more unexpected:

- It may not be necessary to do it ourselves; the mortals from the place called "the University" appear to be experts on technology. I think it's time to begin to interact directly with humans. Ghadril, you will have to be friendlier toward them. I could not help but notice how your presence affected them.

Lind was looking at her companion's body, her expression was hard to describe, but there seemed to be some mischief in it. The Valkyrie tried to keep her composure at this statement, but could not hide her displeasure at the idea, after all they were old mates.

- Lind, I am a warrior, not a goddess of love.

Lind stopped smiling, she realized that she had been allowing too much familiarity; otherwise her order would not have been questioned, even by Ghadril. She frowned on her and warned sternly.

- You will do whatever it takes. I'm still the leader.

- Yes Madam - answered the goddess with downcast eyes, and then tried to change the subject. Will you inform the other mortals?

- They have already done too much and have been in danger, in order to help us. It is our turn to do something.

In the last few days, the frustration of not being able to do anything had been growing, and the dependence on mortals was beginning to drain her patience. She felt the need to act on her own. Lind would later regret this.

* * *

Dr. Shugahara Kenji looked at his new class and thought that not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined such students. A healing goddess and six Valkyries.

Lind had listened impassively to his suggestion, but ultimately it had been approved. She had not even tried to hear his arguments; apparently the idea that her squad would be familiar with some human activity was enough. Also he had his own motivation. He wished to learn more about these fascinating beings.

Now the goddesses stared at him with curiosity, he was not sure if the object of there curiosity was him or what he was doing. Kenji could not help but crack a smile, maybe his next book should be called "Cooking for goddesses", since he had never had more dedicated students, who also could learn with such ease.

Dr Shugahara was also passionate and knowledgeable in anthropology, and began by explaining the importance of food for humans and the cultural implications. He then put forward to them the entire world of possibilities and techniques which could be used to modify the food´s texture, flavor and aroma.

The goddesses listened fascinated, because until then, they had considered food as a simple way to recharge energy and now found that there was a whole new world of exciting possibilities to explore. The human world seemed an exotic and mysterious place.

The doctor also added some fascinating data on food of different cultures. After a demonstration, he left them to work.

They did not need much explanation. Kenji watched them and was amazed at their inhumanly accurate work. They performed the cutting of vegetables with millimetric accuracy and the speed which they handled the knives kept him remembering they were warriors who could use them for other purposes. All this plus their speed at learning, reminded him of a certain goddess that had amazed him so he could not keep his eyes from growing moist.

Othala watched him; she was kept in awe at the strength of his feelings. Despite her youthful appearance, she was old and the years of life far outweighed those of this creature. She had seen war and death, yet this mortal creature never stopped to fascinate her... She could see the feelings of Dr Shugahara reflected in his aura and felt his pain.

Her healing instincts moved her to act, so she approached the man and put her hand on his shoulder. Kenji jumped at the unexpected contact, and then as if they heard an invisible order, the other Valkyries stopped their work and gathered around him, touching him with the palms of their hands. They started singing a very soft chant and Othala spoke:

- You have a powerful aura, it's a pity you can not to see and use it, but we can help. This world is full of forces that you cannot see, but I can teach you to see them, that will help you focus your pain in a better way.

The doctor felt the gentle touch of goddesses like an electric shock.

- I do not understand. What are you doing? - He nervously exclaimed at the strange sensations that filled him.

- We will only make you conscious of a world that you have already begun to see a hint of, I have seen that your world is full of beauty that you cannot perceive. Do not be afraid; take it as a gift for what you have done for us.

Kenji started to feel different, he felt he was a little lighter, but the most wonderful thing was that he began to see a glow that surrounded the goddesses and then saw that his own body also shone with the most beautiful colors. He looked around and material objects seemed to come alive- They were no longer inanimate objects, each object had its own personality and own energy. It was a sudden revelation of beauty; it was the beauty of his own world. The full strength of the effect lasted only a few seconds, and faded, but not completely. It was a wonderful gift. He had seen the world through the eyes of a god, and even more so, perhaps he could learn to do it again.

The Valkyries separated slowly and returned to their work as if they had never left. The doctor looked at Othala and having no words to express made a deep bow of thanks.

Suddenly heard a timid cough, it was Keiichi, who had been wondering at the process, somehow he had managed to also perceive the aura, his life with three goddesses had made him more perceptive and it was a disconcerting experience. Then he commented:

- I have restored the electricity and the television works. I will leave it here, it might be good to hear the news, but I cannot put it Urd's room, I hope you do not mind.

Dr Shugahara blinked. The change from discovering the hidden beauty of the world to jump to the banality of TV seemed ridiculous, but by then the Valkyries had surrounded the apparatus. Shugahara knew the fascination this device exerted on Urd, but did not expect this reaction from a squad of warriors.

One of them managed to turn on the power and soon discovered the channel change dial. Kenji heard a low murmur among the group of goddesses, one of them commented.

- I've heard about these devices, they are primitive, but mortals use it to share many of their stories. Another commented: - I've heard mortals are great creators of stories and tales. Pity we cannot use magic to make this device bigger.

She quickly went through several TV channels, then began a more deliberate and systematic search for something that seemed to attract them: "stories."

Dr Shugahara suddenly heard a familiar voice and with an energetic gesture asked her to let him hear. The Valkyrie nodded and search again to find the channel to let him listen, she was intrigued.

Keiichi was surprised by his curiosity. It was a simple talk show, and featured a middle-aged man.

- Why do you want to hear him? - Do you know him?

- Yes, he is Dr Shinobu Kitayama from the Kyoto University. I did not expect to see him on television, his area of study is not widely known.

- What does he study?

- Happiness. - Then Kenji signaled for silence, while Keiichi scratched his head trying to understand how happiness could be a subject of science.

It was a morning talk show; there was an interviewer who seemed to suffer from chronic verbiage and a young pretty woman who seemed to have a vocabulary of 5 words. They faced a middle-aged man, who seemed like an older version of Dr Shugahara. Despite his age and his formal appearance, the man's eyes shone with a youthful enthusiasm.

-... So you claim that you can measure happiness and put it in a lab? I do not see any science on it

The question was designed to annoy the guest, but he simply ignored the tone and focused on answering with enthusiasm:

- It's not as difficult or incredible as it seems, simply we really know when we are happy, common people are quite objective about that and with a good questionnaire with a few key words, you can extract a lot of information to study happiness and what is behind it.

The news presenter tried to be flippant.

- Let me guess. You found that money brings happiness. I do not think you need to do scientific research to know that.

The man smiled, it was an easy smile that left no doubt about his area of study. Instead of being bothered by the words, he examined the presenter as if he were a strange bug that needed to be investigated. Then answered with an authority that silenced the man, at least momentarily

- Only to some extent. Once our basic needs are met, happiness depends on many other factors. The understanding of what makes us happy, can do much to bring happiness to more people. Each culture has different things that makes them happy. We simply cannot use the standards form one culture and expect people to be happy.

The presenter seemed embarrassed by not being able to irritate the man, but tried again, speaking cynically:

- So money does not buy happiness? Come on, I would be really happy with a higher salary.

The man just smiled again and answered:

- You do not want more money; you want public attention since that is what makes you happy. You need to impress other people, since your own self-esteem is so low. That way you can feel some happiness, but it's not a very effective way. If you could work on your self-esteem, then you would be much happier. - The presenter gulped at being dissected in public. - So, money is not determinant on reaching happiness, for example our country has one of the happiest cities in the world, and it's not the city with the highest economic level.

- Ah ha! - Commented the man, trying to get some attention as predicted - And who are the lucky ones.

- It's the city of Nekomi. There's something there that causes people to be extremely happy. It's a phenomenon that started about four years ago.

The mention of Nekomi immediately captured Keiichi´s attention.

- Can you really measure that? - The surprise of the man was evident -And with what accuracy can that be determined?

- Enough to know that the epicenter of happiness is around an old abandoned temple called Toringinkan.

Keiichi and Shugahara looked at each other speechless, a shocked Keiichi commented:

- That must be because of Belldandy. Marler once commented that the presence of the goddesses breaks the balance and brings too much happiness to the world, but I never thought someone could measure that.

Kenji thought about it and commented: - But then, if the presence of a goddess brings happiness, then the presence of a demon could bring unhappiness...

As if echoing his words, the presenter commented.

- But then you are also able to measure the unhappiness. Tell me, what is the unhappiest place in Japan?

- Interestingly it´s also in Nekomi, but the area is much smaller as if the effect would be much weaker, is a small suburb practically abandoned, and a very unhappy one. It's located in...

The presenter apparently decided it was boring not being able to manipulate his guest, especially since he was the one being annoyed, so he interrupted.

- Sorry professor, our time is over. We hope to hear more about this "interesting topic" on another occasion.

Dr Shugahara frowned angrily, but restrained himself. At the questioning look from the Valkyrie in charge of the channel selector, he told her she could continue searching the TV channels, and then pointed to Keiichi, indicating he wanted to talk to him alone.

They left the kitchen. Outside he took out his cell phone and searched his directory.

- I must phone and congratulate my colleague; I will not lie if I tell him that I found it was a really fascinating theme. I'm sure he will not deny us the information about that unfortunate suburb - He paused and smiled embarrassed. - I confess I had never taken Dr Shinobu studies very seriously. I hope someday I will be able to reveal him how much accurate are his studies.

* * *

It was an impressive lab, and the one at Chiba University seemed tiny in comparison, there were dozens of large-screen plasma monitoring equipment. A big room could be seen where a large supercomputer was working, it was the fastest in the world, and through the windows you could see the particle detectors, which were changing the way we view the world.

Oblivious to everything around him, at a small desktop, Professor Nambu checked his laptop, looking worried. He felt tired; it had taken a long flight to get here, but did not want to lose time, and had refused to rest in the hotel to get straight to CERN. In this place the best experts in high-energy physics and string theory used the LHC energies to question the universe.

He was approached by a man; he was Yoshida Takashi, who had insisted on accompanying him. He felt it was a moment of great importance for humanity. He doubted for a moment before interrupting the professor, but it was important to talk.

- I just heard what happened to Miss Rosenthal

- Yes, it was very close to becoming a tragedy. I had completely forgotten about her plans to synthesize the crystals. It was foolish on my part.

- How much we talking about?

- Fifty grams of crystals! And we were about to die for just a few milligrams.

- Then you managed to interrupt the synthesis?

- No, that's the interesting point. She really synthesized that amount, I do not understand how they survived. Apparently she used a procedure that resulted in a more stable structure.

Yoshida whistled in admiration.

- Fifty grams? If our calculations are correct and that is destabilized, it could generate a destructive force that would exceed by several orders of magnitude the Tzar bomb. Can we control it?

- I do not know, but we must concentrate on the most immediate problem, I need Miss Rosenthal here along with her... "dilithium crystals". She doesn't know, but right now her knowledge may be the most coveted in the world. Here she will be safer until we understand what is happening. Fortunately the name she choose would make believe a lot of people it's a joke, that will give us more time.

- I guess she would be surprised to be sent here.

- She has not had time to enjoy her cubicle, but she is an ambitious young woman who wanted to participate in the big leagues. Now Miss Rosenthal will be the focus of the top experts in physics in the coming days, I guess the experience will be memorable.

- But do you really think it would be wise to tell everyone what is going on? And not only to the part of the gods, which I still have trouble accepting it despite having witnessed their power, but we are tapping energies beyond our imagination. If that information comes out, someone could unleash unprecedented destruction.

- Unfortunately the most important thing about it is already known by many, "it works." Sooner or later someone would try to repeat the experiment and this time he or she may not have a goddess on hand to save his life and ours. Nor we cannot afford that only a few people know about this. Remember what happened with the atomic bomb, until a scientist released the full information to the world and restored the balance of power. I know it followed years of fear, with that balance, but it was preferable than only one nation had the technology. Science is based on the free flow of information and we must not silence it. But information must be real and verifiable.

- I shudder to think about the consequences if it's used based on defective data.- commented Takashi, he was visible altered by the words of professor Nambu.

- Also it can be equally dangerous if someone thinks that this will give him power over the world. But it´s not the only thing that worries me.

- What could be more important than the destiny of our world?

- I was reviewing some of Miss Rosenthal notes, and I hope our guests could allocate some computing time to verify them - He pointed to the giant computer CS-2 / Meiko Limited that was the heart of the CERN facilities. - but, I just talked to Stephen and he confirmed my suspicions. The goddesses are from a universe with more dimensions than our own, and those universes are inherently unstable. I think the existence of their universe depends on ours, so far it´s an unfalsifiable hypothesis, but perhaps we are not only responsible for our universe.

* * *

Keiichi and Dr Shugahara expectantly looked how the old computer booted up. The booting of the operating system seemed slower than ever, but finally completed and Keiichi launched the web browser. He quickly entered the Heavens' website, which he had no doubt was really hosted in Heaven.

But this time nothing came out, the connection was slow to connect. Keiichi feared the worst; maybe this source of communication was also broken.

Finally, a screen appeared, but it was not what he expected. This time there were no images, only a simple text written in runes.

- Unable to contact web site. The requested server is not responding. Http protocol inoperative. Attempting to use alternative communication protocols.

Keiichi jumped in surprise. That was not a standard internet message from the browser. Kenji looked surprised, and then Keiichi remembered that he could not read the symbols.

- It says the communication channel seems to be open, but it cannot communicate. The equipment's can hear each other, but they no longer have a common language to speak. However it seems that there is some kind of software in my computer that will try an alternate method.

- Do you think it is safe?

Keiichi grinned, after what had happened to them, it sounded almost ridiculous to worry about a piece of software.

- Remember, we are now** the order of mortal knights**. What could be wrong?

Kenji smiled and put his hand on Keiichi´s shoulder. Suddenly there was more information on the screen:

- **report**: Protocol tcp / ip active. No data servers to access of information. Must log directly on the system. **Suggested action**: to enabled the local interface for interactively evaluate alternatives with user. Do you agree (y/n)?

The Local interface? That seemed to confirm Keiichi´s suspicion that strange software was on his machine. With barely contained excitement, typed a simple "y".

Never before had such simple words triggered such profound consequences for the fate of humanity. But Keiichi would have not cared, all he wanted to do above everything else, was to save his goddess. But soon he would know that something extraordinary was happening.

**Ada-654 had been awakened.**

**End of Chapter XIX**

* * *

**Notes:**

**Adx-654. **If you have forgotten about this program, please see Chapter 9, "core war".

**Shinobu Kitayama.** He is truly a specialist who studies happiness, and its measurement and impact on our lives. I recommend reading about his work and the different expectations of happiness in different cultures

**CS-2 / Meiko Limited.** One of the most fasted computers in the world, an expandable multiprocessing computer. While it has a Japanese name, it´s a British company, with base in the US.

**Tzar bomb. It´s** the largest nuclear device that had been built and detonated. It was designed for a capacity of 100 megatons, although it was tested to "only" 50 megatons.

* * *

**I want to thank Zoro50, who help to clean my english**


	20. Chapter 20: The dying god

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**  
**By Javier Delgado Rosas**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XX

**The dying god**

The sunset would soon arrive at the grove surrounding the temple, the tops of the trees were already showing a reddish hue and birds already were blaring their evening songs. Suddenly they fell silent at the sound of an approaching stranger. But it was not a lone person but two, the other one moved so silently that it was hard to guess she was really there.

She was young woman with a fitted dress. Her feet barely left any mark on the loose leafs. She moved effortlessly but from time to time she hesitated, as if she felt disoriented. Most of the noise came from a young man behind her, he was wearing some old jeans a colored shirt and was carrying a small metal case. The man seemed completely out-of-place here. It was evident he was not used to walk on uneven ground and that was the least of his problems. While trying to follow the girl, he seemed unable to look away from her curvaceous body adding to his problems moving in this kind of terrain. Finally, unable to match her pace, he exclaimed in a nervous voice:

- Hey! Please wait, can you go a bit slower. - The man hesitated and then with some shyness he dared to ask ...- By the way, you have not told me your name.

The woman stopped and looked at him not sure what to do. She did not really want to mix with humans, but Lind orders were explicit, after a brief pause said in a flat tone.

- My name Ghadril.

The man shuddered at the sound of her voice and swallowed hard. Since the first time he had seen this woman nothing was the same. Shyly he looked into her eyes, afraid to get closer since the words "_body like a goddess_" were not a cliché but reality. The uniform she used was so fit that hid nothing of her body features. It was so natural to call goddess to this beautiful creature. He coughed and exclaimed:

- Goddess Ghadril ... - The woman made a gesture of disgust at the title.

- Just call me Ghadril. - She made a pause realizing her answer has been rude, and tried to ask in a more polite tone - Mortal, what is your name?

The man smiled happy to see the goddess had condescended to speak with him, a bit hesitant he replied:

- Takashi Yoshida- he doubted and then corrected - Professor Takashi Yoshida ...

- Professor Takashi Yoshida, I will walk slower, is just...- she hesitated - Is just that I do not feel well so I need to hurry up this.

- Please, just call me Takashi. But, are you okay? Is there anything I can do?

Ghadril looked at him, as she recalled the words of Lind "to be intoxicated with life" and then wondered if all mortals had those beautiful auras. Suddenly she froze, surprised by that thought, and then tried to reject it. She looked around at the myriad of life form surrounding her. This was the third time she came into the forest and now she perceived stronger than ever the power behind those living things. This time the feeling was so intense that she really felt intoxicated, so she remembered what Lind had said hours before:

- My reason to chose you for this mission is that I trust you. I know you will do your best even if you get intoxicated with life.

- I cannot understand how life can intoxicate me?

- This planet is full of vital energy. When you look around you it seems impossible to realize we are in a universe which is implacably hostile to life. Of this entire and huge universe, only this planet has life. So the life forms are really tenacious, they are so different from the domesticated life forms in our world. We are part of an ancient race, and this tenacious life intoxicates us with its youth and intensity. It's not like the living things from our world, life in this world still has free will, the full planet can react as a living organism, we call it Gaia, and this planet seeks to survive at all costs.

- You mean it was the planet that gave energy to the mortals by his own will?

- Yes it has that power. So it´s vital power can intoxicate us. It has energies you do not even suspect. The surplus of those energies it what fuels our world. That is why we grant wishes to mortals, in exchange for tapping those energies.

- Our world's energy comes from the mortal world? How is this possible?

- Othala would be able to explain it better than I, - Lind smiled sadly - But I cannot stop to amaze me that so few of us wonder where we get our energy. Unfortunately we cannot use those energies directly, it need to be processed by Yggdrasil, but in its raw form can affect us.

- Lind, why me? There are Valkyries younger than me who would be fascinated to interact with mortals.

- Othala, you and me are the oldest in the squad and are more resistant, but the younger ones are not. That's why I chose you; I trusted you and your strength to resist.

- Lind. But you let Chrono go with those mortals?

- Chrono had been working at the "Goddess relief office", and she had been already prepared to come into contact with mortals and she is already immune to the effect, which is why I chose her to accompany them, but she is still weak, and cannot help us.

- But what if this intoxication occurs always, what would happen to the others?

-They can be trained to adapt, but that take times and that is what we don´t have. Valkyries were not supposed to stay much time on earth, but now, without the trill and tension of combat and with their magic restricted, they are very susceptible. - Lind had softened her features and continued - So I will not give you an order, but rather I will ask you to do it.

Ghadril set aside her memories and paused to examine the mortal. I had been so easy to interact with him. He had arrived with other mortals carrying a batch of new bracelets, and she had seen he could not stop staring at her, so she had chosen him. She just approached him and explained what she needed, and he offered to help, and now they were here...

She could not help to notice how clumsy and noisy that was mortal, and yet saw the intensity of his aura, so she had decided not to come near him. She already had begun to feel dizzy and knew the reason.

- Mortal, you cannot do anything to help me, except hurry up - but at the look of his bewildered expression, she softened her voice- I try to go slower.

The man did not protest, only tried to hasten his pace.

Soon they reached the tree where the monitoring device was. Ghadril pointed it and explained what Lind had discovered while the man watched it with critical eye. He nodded and opened his briefcase.

There was not much there, a laptop, an external antenna to capture the local data network and a radio frequency meter. Soon he went to work.

Ghadril could not help noticing that all his awkwardness disappeared as he began to work on the problem. His hands flew over the keyboard. He found the frequency of the transmission, then began to spy the data packets and started a decryption procedure. He whistled happily when he recovered the encryption key and began to observe the tcp/packets. Soon he was able to discover the IP of the received channel and did a simple geolocation of the address. It took him less than twenty minutes to do the whole procedure then with a chuckle of satisfaction said:

- I´ve got it.

He had been completely engrossed in his work, then forgetting his previous shyness, he presented the Valkyrie with a satellite view of an area of the city on Nekomi.

- Here in this area you can found where the transmission is being received. Sorry if I cannot be more precise, you will still have to search several houses around, but the area looks abandoned, so will not be difficult to find activity.

The Valkyrie smiled approvingly, this clumsy mortal had some skills. It had been faster than she had expected.

- Thanks.- replied in a sincere tone and the man felt a thrill at having being useful to a true goddess.- Now we have to go. Hurry, I need to inform to Lind.

She retired hastily but had to return after noticing the man had not followed her. She found the man paralyzed and staring around as if he could not see her.

- What's wrong? We must go!

The man smiled nervously trying to locate her voice, it seemed as if he had become blind, and said...

- It´s already dark. I forgot to bring a flash-light and I am dazzled by the light of the screen. I can see nothing. Maybe if we wait, I can get use to the darkness.

The Valkyrie blinked in surprise, due to her extraordinary senses, she could perceive everything as if it were daylight, then recalled he was just a mortal man. She hesitated, there was no time to lose so awkwardly she approached the man and told him:

- Sorry, we cannot wait, I need to get out of here and meet Lind - then she cursed herself. She was a warrior and had face death, yet she felt insecure at this weak mortal, finally said - Please give me your hand, I will guide you...

Suddenly at the touch of their hand, a glow surrounded them. Both felt a shivering. Ghadril could feel the aura of this man and he was overrun by a peace he had never felt before.

Time seemed to stop, the strong feeling slowly faded away, but unwittingly and unknown to them a new bond between gods and mortals had been formed. Slowly, maybe slower than necessary, Ghadril led the mortal to the temple. They walked in silence, words seemed unnecessary, only that slight touch of their hands seemed to be important.

* * *

Keiichi and Dr Shugahara were staring at the screen of the old computer. Keiichi felt some disappointment. He had expected something spectacular, like the first time he had connected with heaven, then looked at the hard drive light and notice it was full of activity. Something was happening.

Then the screen was invaded with symbols, they were diagnostics messages. They went very fast, yet what he perceived did not give him much comfort.

- Insufficient memory, I/O routines damaged, inadequate local interface, holographic interface not available, processor speed insufficient, inadequate memory, physical space to decrypt program insufficient... - and so on

Keiichi understood; this software had designed for an incommensurable and vastly more powerful computer and this time it was not on Yggdrasil resources.

On the screen appeared more error symbols, then a few questions appeared on screen. While Keiichi was not an expert, he understood enough to solve the problem, the program seemed to have it´s native routines I/ O damaged and was unable to communicate, so it was asking for instructions. Keiichi began to type to answer the questions.

Fortunately since he had built that machine from scratch and knew how to point the software to use the low level routines of the OS. Quickly he typed some orders, pointing to the software to use the web cam, the speakers and the microphone. He noticed Kenji was staring at him, so he smiled and explained.

- My machine seems to be too old, I am not sure if it will work, but the software seemed to be trying to adapt. If this doesn't work we will need to move it to a more powerful system.

Then realized that the camera had been activated, and the speaker began to vibrate, there were disjointed noises but slowly they began to make sense.

- aaaaaa, eeeee, eeeiiiiiooo, tstsss, teeessssttt, vovovoiiiiiiccceee …

It was a mechanical and impersonal voice, but the words still made no sense, Keiichi had an idea, he spoke to the microphone and said. - Testing, one, two, three.

There was a pause and heard in response. - teeessssting, ooon, tooo, teereee

Keiichi repeated his words and paused to listen again, this time it was clearer. He began to add new words, and on each iteration, the voice became clearer. Suddenly there was no more repetition and heard:

- Vocal output calibrated. Sound input calibrated, routing cognitive functions to verbal commands. - There was a brief pause then a clear voice said - Done. Displaying list of verbal commands, done. Cognitive routines, operational at 1% Status: accepting verbal commands.

Keiichi looked nervously to Dr Shugahara, and scratched his head as the screen was filled with a list of cryptic words. The Doctor simply nodded to him and smiled, he was confident on the young engineer. Keiichi nervous coughed since he was not sure he could match that confidence, then took the microphone and spoke to the computer.

- Who or what are you? Identify yourself.

- Processing using Voice pattern recognition. Accepted privileges change, executing command. My ID is: "**Predictive Defense Program** **adx-654 v2.03.05.", forked subprogram.**

The answer was incomprehensible but at least it had been answered, so he continued

- Why are you on my computer?

- **A-654 ADX v2.03.05, **my parent task needed to have a secure copy of itself in order to prevent predictive diagnostic data to be deleted. This system was the only safe system available.

The answer was as incomprehensible as the previous, but Keiichi noticed it had not been a mechanic answer; somehow it seemed to reflect intelligence. Keiichi decided to ignore the answers since he had other priorities.

- **Ada-654, I** need to communicate with the gods to know what's going on in Heavens. Can you establish a communication channel?

There was silence for a few seconds and Keiichi thought his question had not been clear enough but then heard the answer:

- Yggdrasil communication systems are blocked, current status code is indigo, and all communication is prohibited. Only a super-administrator level account can override the prohibition.

Keiichi was taken aback by the answer, he knew Belldandy's account did not have that level, but then had an idea, a very crazy idea. This software was not running on Yggdrasil, but on his own computer, and he was the sole administrator of this machine. He breathed deeply and decided to try.

- Request login to full administration level, full administration privileges. User name: Keiichi Morisato, password: - he paused and blushed then said in clear voice - password: "ilovebelldandy".

There was no response, and then Keiichi chose to continue.

- Accept New Orders: override indigo code. Try open communication channel, find out what caused the alert.

There was also no immediate response, Keiichi gave a resigned sight, and tried to think in other approach, so he almost jumped when he received a terse reply.

- Commands accepted, executing

Keiichi did not know, but the program had survived giving up his security schemes, being damaged and crippled, so it had accepted Keiichi easily as an administrator.

- Communication channels are down. High level function are down, Yggdrasil cognitive function are down. Using low level core function to directly access system files. Retrieving records logs, analyzing events.

There was a pause while a large amount of incomprehensible information was displayed on the screen. Keiichi was pondering in disbelief what he had heard. Yggdrasil, the most powerful computer in the multiverses was down! That was serious judging from his previous experiences. There was a pause and several pieces of data were highlighted on screen, the program was organizing data at a prodigious rate, then there was a slight pause.

- Located suspected event in logs, estimate a 99.2 % chance that it is the base event, do you want to visualize?

Dr Shugahara and Keiichi and looked at each other and cried almost in unison

- Yes!

In its monotonous voice, the impersonal voice answered.

- Applying spatial coordinate transformation routines, compression from 11 to 2 dimensions for display, unfolding event.

An image appeared on screen, the image was at first incomprehensible, since there was no sense of scale, but they had no doubt, both Dr. Shugahara as Keiichi felt shivering at realizing what they were seeing. They were the first mortals to see Heavens.

They saw the image of a man of imposing and serene appearance in a monumental building. They saw other gods, approaching the council, and heard them talk. Keiichi's hearth raced as he heard and recognize the serene gods voice. He had heard that voice before, over the phone!. So he exclaimed.

- I know that voice, I´ve heard him on the phone when he talked to Belldandy. He is Kamisama, the ruler of heavens!

From the information gathered from the palimpsest of Urd, Dr. Shugahara knew something about heavens hierarchy, He felt a chill as he knew that was the most powerful being in the universe. The two men witnessed the confrontation between the gods, the discussion and suddenly the powerful explosion that shook the foundations of this beautiful and marvelous world.

The computer screen went blank a few seconds. They realized the camera that recorded those images had been destroyed. The software began searching for more material. None of them dared to utter a word; they knew were witnessing events that would have implications for the whole universe.

An image appeared. It was from outside the building. With horror they saw how the building was rip apart and vaporized, thus triggering a chain reaction, and several buildings went down by one, and other structure collapsed as the magic that sustain them disappeared. They heard cries of confusion, and pain as torn bodies were evaporated.

Those images of horror of the destruction, tied them to the screen. Slowly everything seemed to go quiet, the record paused, then it went in fast forward as if looking for something, then paused again and returned to normal speed. They saw something that impressed them even more.

The gods had begun to fight each other! There was no doubt, gods were fighting against gods, but could not understand why. It was as if there were not authorities. Some of them that looked like guards were soon taken down, or surrender and Keiichi could not help thinking Lind should be there with her squadron to maintain order.

Suddenly the impersonal voice was back and comment.

- Could get partial access to a real-time channel. Reviewing local surveillance monitors.

Now they saw what seemed like the interior of a building. Dozens of gods running from one side to another, checking what seemed equipment, and trying to fix it, but their efforts seemed futile, from outside they heard screams and confusion.

Keiichi had an idea, he rubbed nervously his hands and with a barely audible whisper, he asked:

- Can you access the** "goddess hotline office"**?

Shugahara looked surprised, and asked Keiichi:

-What's that?

Keiichi whispered the answer - is the office rival to the one where Belldandy work, I know someone there.

The doctor looked amazed to Keiichi, it seemed that boy knew more things than he had imagined. He tried to ask for more details but suddenly the image changed. There was a goddess, she was in sitting surrounded by displays, and nervously was manipulating come controls. She was a dark hair and wore something strange that revealed most of her body. She was giving orders to dozen of goddesses. There some despair in her attitude. Keiichi was able to recognize her, this goddess has been on earth a couple of times, once of them to give Keiichi a wish.

- Peorth? - Exclaimed in surprise.

The goddess looked around frightened, it seemed she had heard him, and then said in a soft voice, as if trying to avoid being heard.

- ¿K... Keiichi? , no it can´t be. The system has failed and we are now block from earth. That voice, Keiichi? Impossible, it must be a system failure, he must be on earth.

Keiichi, realizing that she really have heard him insisted:

- Peorth, can you hear me? Yes I'm Keiichi! I can see you and hear you form earth.

Peorth looked frightened, as if doubting what she had heard.

- Keiichi! How is this possible?, It´s ...!

- Peorth, I have no time to explain. I need to know what's going on, Belldandy and Urd have been hurt and may die. We need Heavens help.

- Keiichi? Is it really are you? We cannot help anyone, Yggdrasil is out of line, there is no functional dimensional portals nor there is available energy to operate them. Our situation is critical, Kamisama is dying and his successors are already dead. There is so much confusion, we have no communications, and some gods believe that we are under attack from Hell. In their panic they belief there are demons infiltrated and are attacking everything they found suspicious, so far they have managed to attack and destroy most of our backup systems.

But what happened? We saw Kamisama and what I think was your council and suddenly an explosion.

- How could you do that? But it is true, Kamisama is dying, and if we do not restore the system he will die soon. We need to restore the order, to put Yggdrasil back on line. But people do not want to hear us, there are so many rumors no one trust us. Keiichi Sorry, we cannot help you. If we only have Lind here. She is respected and feared, she and the main Valkyrie squad could restore order, but it is impossible, but do not know where they are.

Keiichi became excited, if Lind could restore the order, maybe he could get help. -Lind here on earth, there must be a way to return her to heavens. Somehow we have to open a portal.

In the beautiful features of Peorth could see something that Keiichi had never expected to see on a goddess face. There was fear and despair. He felt Peorth was about to collapse. He needed to give her some hope, even if he had no idea how to help. In order to help her to calm down, he asked a detailed account of what happened. He knew her, so seeing her in despair was unbearable. He tried to calm her down, so asked a recount of what happened. Dr Shugahara suddenly interrupted her...

- Lind must know what is happening. We must use every resource to send her back to heavens or we would never have help for Urd and Belldandy, and if heavens collapse, our universe also will eventually collapse.

He just finished speaking, and went running to get to Lind, but soon returned with a surprised look...

- They are not here! All Valkyries except those that support Belldandy and Urd are gone and since they are in trance they did not answer me.

Keiichi stared surprised; they both knew that something strange had happened. Keiichi heard Peorth voice, bordering panic, asking what had happened. He decided to lie to calm her.

- Sorry, It´s my fault, I forgot Lind is in a mission. We should wait for her return, we will contact you later. Peorth we will do our best, you need to trust us. Try to hold on. The goddess close her eyes, took a depth breath and opened them, but this time her look was different, the despair had gone and his brightness had returned, she exclaimed

- Thanks Keiichi, you gave me hope. Now I began to understand why Yggdrasil has been taking care of you. Our world may depend on you. I trust you.

Those words made a deep impact on Keiichi. He instructed the program to close the communication channel with mixed feelings. His hopes to use it to contact Hild had disappeared, yet he understood they had been fortunate to know what was going on heaven.

Then noticed Dr Shugahara was staring at him with wonder. Keiichi had not realized his usually shy manners had been replaced by a strong determination. In the last minutes Keiichi had grown ages assuming risks and taking decisions.

Dr Shugahara decided it was his turn to act. He took his phone and began making a series of calls while commenting between calls.

- We have no idea where is Lind, so we have to locate Marler soon. I feel anxiety, as if something is wrong. But we will have to wait, Dr Shinobu Had not calculated the source of unhappiness, but he is working on it, I asked Dr Kawazu to support him with all the computer resources he has, the calculation will soon be ready. Meanwhile we need to talk to Sentaro-kun. We will need all the possible help to search and be prepared to act, once we get the coordinates.

Now the two men remained silent, their hope for heaven´s help was shattered, but they were not defeated and now they had a new purpose. Suddenly the phone rang and Dr Shugahara smiled at the familiar voice, so he answered:

- Professor Shinobu, you have no idea how much happiness your call will generate.

* * *

Marler was sitting in the middle of several holographic consoles, listening to Walharen. His words made no sense.

- It appears that the Norns never leaved the temple I have checked again and again the coordinates where Anang-Reng and his group came to earth and no doubt they went directly to the temple. Also our, records show he and two guards returned.

- What happened to the others? There is no way Belldandy and Urd could face such a powerful group. And I never thought Anang-Reng would have followers of such rank that explains how he got so much information.

- According to the records the Norns and several of Anang-Reng people must still be there. Moreover, the energy released there only can be due a great battle, since the doublet system has not been activated, somehow they still must be alive.

- You say lots of energy was released? That is impossible! - She pointed out the monitoring screen with the image of the temple-There is no trace of something in the temple

Walharen closed his eyes thinking, frowned and after a brief pause said:

- Are you sure you're seeing the actual temple...

Marler looked at him angrily, but then exclaimed with surprise.

- A camouflaged field! That should be, that is why there is no record of activity in the temple. Knowing Belldandy's powers and abilities, she should have been able to produce a field strong enough hide the battle. I must go to the temple and finish this for real...

Suddenly she had a shiver when heard a familiar voice behind her...

- What are you going to finish. Haven´t you done already enough damage ?

Marler tried to stay calm, she had recognized that voice, she had met Lind in the past and only a highly trained warrior god would have been able to bypassed her alarms. Slowly she turned around and had an overwhelming vision.

Lind was in the doorway of his lair, surrounded by a squadron of Valkyries, she saw their ensigns and felt fear. They were the elite Valkyrie squad. She recalled stories that now were legend about those powerful goddesses. The memories of their past exploits made the encounter overwhelming. She needed a plan to deal with them and speak directly to Lind. Trying to hide her fear, she managed to utter a proud tone and said:

- Lind, why are you here? I need to see Urd...

Lind felt anger at the mention of Urd´s name and that anger triggered a chain of emotions.

Lind knew she was now under the intoxication of life and had brought her full squad to overwhelm the enemy so avoid a confrontation, but that words make her lost control. Before Marler had finished her words, Lind drew her battle-ax and threw an electric blast against Marler throwing her against the brick wall. The wall collapsed under the impact.

Marler tried to get up, removing the bricks that had covered her, and then saw Lind approaching, with a serene and cold expression that was more frightening than her anger. In a flat tone, Lind said.

- Urd and Belldandy have already received a lot of harm; I will not allow it again.

The cold words terrified Marler, she knew Lind was much more powerful than her and she was not alone. But still she was a demon first class, closed his eyes for a moment and invoked an element spell, and the fragments of the wall above were thrown in the direction of the Valkyries like shrapnel.

The Valkyries did not even move. Simply they let the fragments crashed into them and pulverize. Those bricks did not cause any harm. Lind made a slight sign and the moved to surround Marler.

Marler got up; trying to master her fear, there was so much at stake, closed her eye to calm down and looked at Lind with firm attitude:

- Please Lind, I need to talk to you, this is very important, and then you can do with me whatever you want. Lind moved closer, while a flicker off anger appeared on her face and answered back.

- You are a demon, betrayal is in your nature, and I will not listen to you. I will not hear any more. - She raised her battle ax and dropped it on Marler.

This time Marler was prepared, she screamed a combat curse and raised her physical barrier. Lind's ax crashed into the barrier, releasing a blinding light and bounced.

The physical barrier survived long enough to stop the attack but could not hold more. The attack of the Valkyrie had been devastated and the barrier began to dissolve.

While she was not harmed, the impact sent Marler trough the next wall, but this time it was the exterior wall, and Marler fall to the vacuum from a fourth floor. She fell in the middle of the abandoned street, the impact cracked the pavement, but her demon body withstood. She was stunned by the pain, but still she forced herself to stand in defiance. No matter what would happen to her, she had a mission to accomplish.

While she was trying to ignore the pain, she saw as in a nightmare how the Valkyrie jumped from the hole on the wall and slowly floated to surround her, followed by Lind. Lind had overridden the ban on magic and they were using the bracelets to thew fullest of their power.

Marler had little time to think so used a simple attack spell, with a mighty cry she raised her hands then chanted :-"Indium vindum vef darraðar ", invoking the elemental forces around her. The air was heated by a glowing plasma, which was she launched toward Lind.

One of the Valkyrie tried to intercept it, and her arm was burned, she collapsed screaming in pain. Lind reacted with an inhuman speed, and extended her arms, to catch the fiery plasma between her hands, as if it were a harmless snowflake.

Marler collapsed due to the effort, she had used most of their energy in the attack, and saw as in a dream how Lind was preparing to launch toward her the burning plasma she had intercepted

Marler cursed: she cursed Hild, cursed the universe that had been so unfair with her, and cursed herself for being so weak. The anger made her to forget the pain, and tried to get up again barely. At first she barely felt the fiery impact of plasma.

But it wrapped her body and slowly she began to feel the unbearable pain while the plasma seemed to devour her. The plasma gradually disperse its power, and Marler collapsed once again as the pain of the burns around her body overpowered her will.

Yet she made a last effort and tried to get up once more, but her body refused to obey. Lind hesitated. She had not expected Marler offer so much resistance. She had planned that with such overwhelming force, so she would have surrender without much fighting. She could not help but feel respect towards this tenacious rival, but had a mission to fulfill. To incapacitate the demons that were on earth as a preventive measure.

Marler fought to control her body and tried the get up once more in a useless gesture of challenge. She saw Lind approaching and slowly raised her ax. This time there was no physical barrier to stop it. The ax fall upon her once more time.

**End of chapter XX**


	21. Chapter 21: Kamisama

_I offer mys best wishes to Zoro50 , who help me to clean this chapter.  
I appreciate his great help._

The mistakes that may still be there, are mine.  


**Javier Delgado**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

**By Javier Delgado Rosas**

**Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.**

**Chapter XXI**

**Kamisama!**

Walharen had witnessed the arrival of the Valkyries, the relentless attack on Marler, and was petrified by their ruthless ferocity. As a demon, he was used to confrontation but he did not expect the gods to act thus against an unarmed demon. Something was not right. Lind, the legendary warrior had a reputation for being powerful, but not for being ruthless.

The magnificent holographic displays in Hild´s quarters made the scene so vivid he almost forgot she was in another realm, beyond his reach.

Fortunately his mind did not freeze. As the scene unfolded before his eyes, he was trying to find alternatives. He knew how important thee mission of Marler was and the motionless bodies around him were a ominous reminder of what was at stake. They were demons that had offered almost all their vital energy and resources to Hild, and there was also Hild's body. She had consumed all her energy to face Anang-Reng.

How could he help Marler? Even Hild's personal guard would not do any good. After seeking a post in the combat corps, he was well aware of their abilities and knew the reputation of the elite Valkyries.

Only Hild would have won against them, but now she lay helpless and devoid of her former power, yet she was full of resources, and maybe with a fraction... He turned to see the helpless body of Hild, and thought ... - "A fraction? Could that be the solution? "- Then looked at his own hands, and sighed. He shuddered at the idea that was forming in his mind, but then smiled. As a warrior his duty would have been to die for Hild, maybe he could still have a chance.

* * *

Lind dropped her battle-ax, but she was so absorbed in her rage, that she did not hear the previous concussion, she only saw something that crossed her field of vision at high speed, and it was a vision of a figure in a bike which crashed into Marler.

For some reason her brain did not work with the usual speed and she could not react in time. With horror she saw her ax fell on a human figure that now protected Marler´s body. She was only able to scream as her battle ax fell on the body of Sentaro-kun.

A mighty thunder was heard when the battle ax impacted an invisible field. In the middle of the night, a flash of light illuminated nearby buildings as if it were a powerful arc light. Lind tried to clear her mind and react. She should have responded in milliseconds, but instead, just felt like everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, even her own mind.

With amazement she saw how her battle-ax smashed into pieces, while the child clung tightly to the body of the fallen demon. She was only able to scream, powerless to stop what she saw.

Lind scream was still being heard when the light of the impact began to disappear, and the ground was still trembling due to the forces released, then she saw the silhouette of the helpless child agitated by the shock wave.

Suddenly she felt the press of arms surrounding her from some.

As she ragged, the Valkyrie tried to get rid of the being who dared to try to imprison her, but for some reason could not. Those arms began to fill her with warmth, it was gentle warmth that seemed to go into her soul, and gradually began to clear her mind.

Then a strange phenomenon occurred, from within Lind two strange winged figures emerged. Dr Shugahara, who had arrive just a few seconds behind Sentaro-kun, was reminded of the mythical angels of the Christian tradition. They were two beautiful, ethereal female figures with large immaculate white wings that gave off light flakes that at times seemed like a shower of feathers.

He remembered a mention in Urd´s palimpsest about beings that were in communion with the inner essence of a goddess, but there was something strange about these twin angels, each had a single wing.

The angels emerged and smiled to the young man who was trying to hold Lind, as one greets an old friend. Shugahara recalled Keiichi´s story about how he had been a host to an angel, and understood. Those angels knew him He listened to Keiichi greet those ethereal beings.

- Coolmint, Peppermint, I'm glad to see you again. You know I just want to help Lind. Please help me.

The twin angels nodded in their silent language and placed themselves on either sides of him. They extended their hands to embrace him and Lind, preventing her release.

Lind stopped screaming, while a part of her mind was intrigued by this strange phenomenon, she felt a body press against her body and the presence of the angels, and then heard a voice.

- Lind, please calm down, everything is fine...

Lind breath slowly to the words, "everything is fine..." as she recognized the voice and was reassured. She felt how Keiichi´s aura joined her angels. This influx grew and wrapped them with a beautiful glow. She had a thought: Where did Keiichi learn to do this? But she didn't question anything else, she suddenly felt tired. Then heard a noise in front of her and noticed how Sentaro moved and smiled to her, he seemed to be unharmed.

She tried to help him, but for some reason could not free herself from those arms. Peace began to fill her and in a flash of clarity, realized what had happened, Keiichi's aura was protecting her against the intoxication of life and her angels were helping. She breathed deeply as her mind cleared from the mists of rage and finally said.

- Now I understand. Everything is fine. Thanks Keiichi! - She took Keiichi's hands and with that she dropped to the ground, while she turned around to see him.

Keiichi was standing behind her with astonished eyes. He wasn't sure what had happened, he simply had obeyed his instinct to try to stop her, had let out all his will and projected his aura, his powerful mortal aura.

Lind still held Keiichi's hands; she knew that contact could help her to remove the fog that had been building on her mind in recent days. She needed to maintain that contact, just a little more. She looked at her angels, they said goodbye to Keiichi and returned within Lind.

It had happened so fast, still in her mind it seemed an eternity. She was distracted when she noticed how Shugahara ran to take care of Sentaro and Marler. He leaned over the two figures lying on the floor, turned around and said:

- Keiichi, I need light, can you pass the lamp? - Keiichi was interrupted by Lind who said with a loud command:

- Ghadril, Othala. Help them, and bring so light so the mortals can see.

Two of the Valkyries made a gesture and from their hands luminous spheres were produced which rose to illuminate the scene. Valkyries could see perfectly, but there were a few hours before dawn and the energies released had fused the light poles around, so it was too dark for humans.

Othala came and helped a shaky, but unharmed Sentaro to rise up. The boy put his hand on his chest to make sure he still had the medallion of Urd´s sisterhood. Othala looked at him and told him:

- You have shown your value again, Sentaro-san. - The boy was surprised at the honorific - You did not hesitate to risk your life, even for a demon that may not deserve it. - The healer frowned at the mention of the word demon. The boy tried to answer back, but was interrupted by a cry of pain.

The doctor held a semiconscious Marler in his arms, and was examining her body to assess for injuries. He had learned from watching Othala.

He produced his little metal box, and selected some patches and applied them to Marler. While he waited for a reaction, he asked Sentaro.

- Are you okay? Your action was heroic, but also reckless. Please do not do it again.

The child looked nervously to the floor at the words of his elder.

- But ... But, you told me before she was vital to save Urd and Belldandy. I could not let something happen to her.

Shugahara smiled and said.

- I'm not scolding you, you did what you had to do, but you were lucky, please remember that. Apparently the medallions are able to activate themselves, else that blow would have been mortal.

He turned to see Marler, as her body shuddered as a soft light enclosed it, the magic potion in the patches were doing their healing action. Suddenly she opened her eyes and nervously looked around. She looked at Lind, and immediately struggled to free herself from the arms of the doctor. She tried to stand up, but she was still weak, and before the man reacted she fell to the ground. Without giving up yet, she advanced, crawling to reach Lind and there, in a gesture no demons had ever used with an enemy, she knelt at her feet, with her face almost touching the ground, and with a shaky voice due to her pain, she said:

- You can kill me if you wish, but please, I must first talk to Urd, the fate of my realm depends on her. I beg you Lind.

Lind was amazed, after her challenging attitude, this was disconcerting. Never in her long existence had she seen a demon acting like this. Something extraordinary must be happening in order to overcome her pride.

Lind now was aware she had been blinded by fury and her attack had been really unnecessary. She was in an awkward position. If only Marler had reacted with fury, but now she felt shame of her actions, it had not been honorable. Her thoughts were interrupted when heard Keiichi´s voice.

- Lind, please, although I have suffered from Marler actions, this time I think we should listen to her. Also we have reason to believe she can help us to save Belldandy and Urd.

On hearing this, Marler exclaimed in a tone of despair:

- Save them? That cannot be, I need to see Urd! Her mother's life depends on it.

Lind began to realize why it was so important, then knelt and inclined her head slightly in her direction, and said something she would have never dreamed of doing:

- I think I made a mistake and I apologize. - Lind hesitated, those were hard words to say, and then continued. - Marler, listen. You cannot talk to Urd. As a result of the demons attack, she and Belldandy suffered extensive injuries and we had to put them in a stasis field to prevent their dissolution and death. Without help from someone of great power we cannot save them, and ... - she doubted, she was going to revel her weak position on earth to her enemy, but remembered Keiichi´s words about trust-... and we are isolated from Heaven so we cannot get help from there..

Suddenly they heard a voice, a voice that brought a shudder of fear to the Valkyries hearts, a voice that haunted their nightmares from eons ago.

- What happened to my daughter?

The Valkyries instinctively adopted combat positions, as a figure approached, walking slowly and even majestically.

Dr Shugahara looked at the figure in astonishment. It was a little girl! She could not have more than 8 years, yet he had noticed the fear on the Valkyries face. But there was something more. Her presence cast an air of sensuality that was impossible to come from that little body. Something was very wrong about that. He looked at Keiichi, who answered his unspoken question:

- She is Hild, the great Daimakaicho, supreme leader of the demon world, grand ruler and master of Hell.

She seemed to listen to him with curiosity and answered with a smile that froze their blood.

- Keiichi, honey, you remembered all my titles, you're a charm, I will insist that Bell-chan let me have you, you would be a nice toy.

These words were said with a poisonous sweetness, but Keiichi just smiled, it was not the first time he had heard them.

Shugahara approached Keiichi and asked in a whisper:

- Is she really Urd's mother, how can be so small? She should be millions of years old ...

- She is, but only part of her. Gods and demons can split themselves into smaller beings that look younger. She looks like a child so she must be only about a ten-thousandth or something like that of Hild. The real Hild could have destroyed the street just by her presence. But still, I think there is something wrong, she looks... so fragile, I have seen her before. She looks different.

The girl approached the group, Marler ran to meet her, and she knelt before her and said:

- My lady, I've failed you, I am not worthy to be a demon, please, I...

- Silence Ma-Chan, You've done well. - She said in a haughty voice, strange for such a little girl, Then paused, as if searching for words too difficult to say- 'You've done your duty beyond what I would expect form any demon - suddenly there was a flash of pain in her face, that was controlled immediately and returned to her haughty tone - You did not desert me, even if all seemed hopeless.

Marler stopped sobbing and looked up; she had never received so direct praise from Hild. Then Hild faced Lind and demanded:

- What happened to my daughter?

Before Lind could answer, they were interrupted by Dr. Shugahara, who approached Hild, bowed, put one knee on the ground and said.

- Powerful Hild, great Daimakaicho and Urd´s mother, I need your favor to save Urd and Belldandy. - There was determination in his voice, which made the following words more surprising - So I request to make a contract with you.

The girl looked at the man with contempt, but behind that gesture there was something else. Her breathing was ragged, as if making an effort, and there as an almost imperceptible tremor in her movements. She breathed deeply and then let her anger out:

- Mortal! Who are you? - She spoke slowly, with a tone so sweet it could make hearts tremble with fear. - How dare you believe you have the honor of making a direct contract with the Great Daimakaicho?, even a low class demons would wince at such demand.

The Doctor looked around, committing the mortal sin of ignoring Hild. He meet Sentaro´s gaze, and made a signal. The boy nodded and began to look for something in his pockets. Then, the Dr took something that was hanging around his neck. It was a small metallic cylinder. It seemed heavy for it´s size. He dared to look at Hild´s eyes, while he extended his hand to show her the cylinder and said:

- We already have a contract. I made a contract with this, and it helped me to save the Urd´s life, so I have to pay my part and deliver this to you.

He opened the cylinder and pulled out a small green crystal, which now shone with a fierce intensity in the presence of it´s true owner.

Hild gasped taken by surprise, then tried to take it, but she had lost control. She has been moving by just pure willpower, so her hand only managed to grab air as she fell to the ground, with a look of surprise at her failure.

Keiichi, who had been following the development, reacted quickly and caught her in his arms. Now he knew something was really wrong.

Marler cried, she was still weak so she could not help the little girl that was now in Keiichi´s arms. She asked in amazement.

- My lady, what happened to you?

Hild made a gesture of pain and with effort said:

- So close, yet that Crystal alone cannot save me. Ma-Chan. I'm dying; the energy I received from Walharen will not last long, he was just a second class demon. You will have to make a decision.

Marler took Hild's hands. She was amazed at her own audacity, then with bewildered wonder asked:

- But the crystal? You can take its power and save your life.

- Unfortunately it´s not enough, I will only prolongs my death a little more. Take this crystal; give its energy to the demons that helped me. Al least they can be saved. Maybe you can command them and keep our world intact. Urd, my daughter and heir is dying, and I cannot help her, that´s my shame, so you will not waste the crystal on me.

She was interrupted by a strong and challenging voice:

- That is not the voice of the great Daimakaicho, you are making a mistake. The Daimakaicho would fulfill a pending contract regardless of the circumstances and bet all odds. Take this crystal to fulfill our contract and start a new one.

The little girl looked at the doctor and for a moment her pain turned into curiosity at such a challenging tone. Only a fool or a very powerful being would utter such nonsense before her.

She hissed a warning:

- At another time those words would have resulted in a very slow and painful death. I will not make a new contract that I cannot fulfill. This lonely crystal is powerful for a demon, but it´s not enough for me, I require much more...

While Shugahara felt his heart shudder at her words, he did not hesitate: - That crystal, is just one of the countless tears of Hild, it´s not the only one. Therefore I ask you to agree to my contract, I know how you can save Urd, Belldandy and yourself.

Hild's body suffered a spasm while her face reflected pain, but brightness had returned to her eyes and asked:

- Mortal, How can you know about this? What can you know about the power of my tears, the tears of my...

Shugahara interrupted.

- The tears of your defeat! I know what they are. I know that 55 million years ago the earth was a battle field and nearly all life was destroyed. This universe and this planet in particular are very valuable for gods and demons. The prized it so much they went to war and the conflict almost destroyed it. Finally, to avoid further losses, the two great leaders; the great Kamisama and the powerful Daimakaicho fought a battle, face to face.

The battle must have been powerful beyond imagination. In Central America they left a large crater that we thought was the impact of a comet, and a lava field of thousands of square kilometers in India. Surely there are more scars upon the land which we have not discovered yet. They almost destroyed earth and themselves. -

Hild interrupted with fury that overcame her pain.

- Mortal, you are digging into the secrets of the gods and demons, you shouldn't know about this. But you're right, we almost killed ourselves.

- And you, Hild, you were defeated, and you're...

Hild continued, ignoring him, for a moment she was lost on her memories:

- And my fragments were scattered over the surface of this world.

Shugahara continued the story.

- But for Kamisama, it was also a Pyrrhic victory. He also received major injuries and lay helpless...

Hild gave a short laugh, then said in anger:

- The wretch!, it would have been better for our realms if he had just disappeared.

The Valkyrie were petrified, how could a mortal know such deep secrets? They belonged to the highest levels of security and knew more about their world than many gods, but those revelations seemed inconceivable. The great victory of Kamisama over Hild was reduced to a half truth. They looked at each other bewildered, but were unable to speak.

Yet, Lind shut her eyes with anger, then she stood proud and look at the mortal.

- Why do you bring out those stories of our past? You will only revive old grudges, that is why they should remain hidden.

Shugahara looked at Lind and realized all this was known to her, yet he knew what he was doing and retorted.

- Sometimes the occult must reappear in the strangest moments. I am just beginning to understand. I have learned that gods and demons can be fragmented and maintain awareness. So, those fragments preserved Hild's conscience, and then she was rescued by a god because ...

- Do not say it.- Hild whispered with an air of menace - That's something only I can dare to say. - She hesitated for that painful memory - yes, a god ... Took pity on me ...!

Shugahara bowed to her, he understood how difficult it must have been to say it, then continued his tale: - That god, slowly recovered most of your pieces and restored your conscience. He took care of you as you were slowly regaining your power. So you were attracted to him. Thus Urd was conceived. But that God also used some of your fragments for a task that you felt it was a betrayal and got furious...

Hild overcame her pain to cast an angry gesture:

- Yes! He used them to save the life of my mortal enemy!

A gasp came out of the Valkyries. Kamisama had been saved with energy from Hild, their hatred enemy. Kamisama ... Was contaminated!

- That god, compelled you two to agree to a truce, an armistice in order that your realms could survive. But he also devised a plan, a plan for one day...

That's enough! - Demanded Hild with suspicion. - You know too much. That knowledge could only come from someone. What is your relationship with Urd?

Shugahara bowed his head wondering what to say now. He dared to stare into Hild´s eyes. Eyes that seemed able to burn, but he did not look away. Even as she lay helpless in Keiichi's arms, she still had a commanding presence.

- I love her, and I will do anything I can to save her, even if I have to challenge the great leader of Hell. Take the crystal, save her before it's too late.

Hild looked in disbelief at this impudent mortal, but there was something in his words that convinced her and without another word she extender her hand and took the crystal. While Hild was distracted by the Crystal, Shugahara looked at Sentaro. He made him a subtle signal; the boy took a cellphone and started to write a text message.

Meanwhile, the crystal began to dissolve in Hild´s hand, it transformed into a luminous fog that engulfed Hild body. The pallor of her face disappeared as the fog got into her, and her body seemed to grow a few inches. There was sudden flash of light around her.

Her gaze changed, there was arrogance returning to her face. She looked at Keiichi who was holding in her arms, and said in naughty tone:

- I have not been in the arms of a man in eons. It feels nice, but we have to leave it for now...

Keiichi was shocked by a feeling of sensuality that came from that childish body and instinctively dropped her. She jumped nimbly and stood in front of the doctor, and a with a haughty stance she said.

- Now mortal, you have my full attention, and if you do not have what I believe you have, I will make you immortal to torture you for eternity.

Shugahara managed to get a smile then turned around and told Sentaro: -Now, send the message.- The child pressed the send key, and a few seconds later, the Valkyries reacted. With their acute senses they had perceived that something was coming. They heard the sound of various motor vehicles, some of them were known to them.

Then they saw lights approaching from various points. Soon they surrounded by half a dozen vehicles. They stopped around the group with their lights pointing towards them. From the vehicles a dozen mortals descended bringing with them several heavy boxes. Some of them approached Shugahara and greeted him

- Somasindu, Professor Sripathi, professor Takahashi-san. You have arrived on time, thank you. - And bowed to them in a respectful and elegant greeting.

- Professor Shugahara, do not bow like that, I cannot get used to your manners. Where do you want us to put this? Thankfully the folks at the university insisted on helping us, - he pointed to the other men and women who carried the boxes - We followed your orders and parked near the area. As soon as we received your GPS position we came.

The doctor greeted his colleagues, who looked with amazement at the scene. Some of them already knew the Valkyries, but for the rest of them they were a marvelous vision. Several of them, driven by their curiosity took their cell phones and discretely began to record the scene.

Shugahara heard an angry noise and remembered he had a powerful demon behind him, cut the formalities and took the box that Somasindu, the young Indian was carrying, the young indian had a terrified look and he did not dare to approach to the little girl.

Shugahara gave instructions and everyone put the boxes in front of Hild. The mortals looked with curiosity to the small girl, and also recognized there was something very special about her an began to whisper, but a gesture from Shugahara ordered them to keep silence. The girl had seen everything with growing anger, but was puzzled when Shugahara opened one of the boxes and pulled out a small case like the one that he had been holding in his neck, then said as if reciting an old poem before his class:

- Countless were Hild tears on her defeat, and every tear was immeasurable in its power. For millennium men were tempted by their power, but they could never fulfill what the tears asked in exchange for their favor, so these unfortunates were destroyed by it. But I knew what those tears were trying to do, To return to their owner, since they are actually part of her.

Suddenly heard a scream in protest as Lind seemed to appear between Shugahara and Hild, interposing herself in his way.

- Fool! What are you going to do? You do not understand what you are doing. You're going to restore to Hild, our great enemy, all her lost power. I will not allow it.

But she was now confronted by Keiichi.

- Lind, you have called my friend for all eternity. Now I will ask you to test that friendship. Please hear me, this is very important: your world is on the verge of destruction. Kamisama is dying and chaos reigns in heaven. Only you and your Valkyries can restore order. You need to return to heaven, and seems Hild is the only one that can help you to return.

Lind looked at him incredulously.

- There is no way you can know that!

- We managed to establish a link to Heaven, using a back door that was left by Urd in Yggdrasil. Please take my thoughts so you know it's true, I offer them freely.

Keiichi took Lind´s hands and placed them on his temples. Lind looked into Keiichi´s eyes; she had called him friend, and knew everything was true. So she sighed and took what was offered freely to her. She closed her eyes and murmured a short spell. She watched in horror at the images of destruction from her realm that were in Keiichi's mind ... Unable to endure more, she cut the link.

The pain was evident on her face, still a bit reluctant she said to Keiichi:

- I had declared you my friend, and I see you are true to our friendship. I trust you.

Lind slowly stepped back and looked at Hild. A tear started to run from her cheek. The Valkyries left their fighting position, bowed their heads and lowered her eyes. A tear from their leader meant too much to bear.

Hild had barely paid attention to the interchange; she was hypnotized by the small cylinder Shugahara had in his hand. She already knew what was inside, since she could feel it. After a few seconds of silence, she said coldly:

- The conditions for a new contract seem appropriate. What do you want in exchange? Power? Dominate this world?, Becoming a demigod?. You may want to be the most powerful being of this universe. What do you want in exchange for those? - She said, pointing to the boxes around her.

Keiichi and Sentaro look at Shugahara; they nodded approving what he would say. Despite Hild words, he had no doubt of his next wish.

- In return I will ask you to save your daughter's life along with her sister, and to open a dimensional portal to heaven so Lind and her Valkyries may return to their realm.

Hild's face hardened, then said.

- So it´s true. The realm of my mortal enemy is in danger. That could be a unique opportunity - Lind face frowned at those words, Hild returned her gaze and smiled, then spoke in a serious tone to Shugahara - But you do not need to ask a mother to save her daughter. You are also asking me to save the life of Belldandy, my future rival and to allow Lind to save the realm of my greatest enemies ... All that, in exchange for the opportunity to save myself and my own realm. - She paused and looked at the mortal with a stern look, then said forcefully - I think ... the price is appropriate.

Before they could react, Hild raised her arms and began a slow and elegant gesture, her body began to glow and the boxes at her feet began to get a similar glow, then she sang in a delicate whisper that sound thundering:

- Tears of my defeat, fragments of my body caught up with violence, Let us be one.

A powerful gale came from nothing, the tops of the boxes were forcefully opened and the crystals were blown by the wind, they rose, and slowly began to surround the small girl's body its brightness increased until it became intolerable.

All covered their eyes. Suddenly the glow faded and all was silent. As they opened their eyes they found instead of a girl, there was now a woman who cast an aura of power and sensuality. She was really Hild, the great Daimakaicho

The earth began to shake with the barely contained power of the great demon, and the lightning of a storm surrounding them. The elements seemed gone crazy, and a whirlwind tried to blow them away. Lind reacted and shouting over the gale, she ordered her Valkyries to protect the mortals. They formed a shield around them.

Hild laughed. Her laughter was blood-curdling then with a booming voice exclaimed:

- My power, I finally got back my real power.

Struggling against the wind, Keiichi left Lind´s protection and stood before the great Daimakaicho, then with a challenging voice yelled.

- Hild, you have your payment, now you must do your part.

Hild was enraged at these words

- Miserable mortal, you're no one to remind me, of my duty. You never will doubt Hild´s word. Now for my daughter. Where is she? I cannot perceive her?

- She is in the temple, Belldandy is shielding her presence. You cannot enter the temple unless...

Keiichi could not finish his words; Hild simply extended her arms and wrapped the group, mortals and goddesses with her powerful magic. Everything went dark and suddenly they saw that they were in Tarikihongan courtyard. They heard a thundering noise from above and the skys were shocked.

The powerful protective field that surrounded the temple was falling apart as the magic of the Daimakaicho was running uncontrolled. The invisible dome surrounding the temple began to crumble while flashes and sparks were shooting out from the fragments. Finally the simulated sky disappeared revealing the true stars behind.

Hild smiled in satisfaction at the display of power, then closed her eyes, and began to regain control of her former powers. The elements gradually began to calm down, the ground no longer shook and slowly Hild was transformed from a frightening vision, to a sensual and beautiful one.

Shugahara shuddered at the vision of that face; he saw the similarities with Urd. And for the first time he was aware of the powers that could exist in his beloved goddess.

Then Hild looked around, as if noticing for the first time she was surrounded by Valkyries and mortals. She smiled and said to her audience with a mocking flattery:

- Keiichi, honey, it's rude to keep me here waiting in the cold. Would you not invite me into your home? Besides, a cup of tea would be nice.

Keiichi scratched his head sheepishly, that was really unexpected, turned to see Shugahara and Sentaro looking for support and with a shy smile invited her to pass.

Lind looked with an impassive expression as her fearsome enemy entered the temple. She followed Keiichi, Sentaro and Shugahara, but paused briefly to give an instruction:

- Ghadril, make tea for the lady.

Ghadril opened her mouth to protest, but she knew Lind enough to know her true feelings... So she preferred to keep quiet and just said.

- Yes Madame.

Meanwhile, behind them the small group of scientists began to argue heatedly about all they had witnessed:

- Did you record it?

- With every detail, it could take years to understand what happened ... - Where all that power came from? - Maybe it´s related to the crystals we were synthesizing... The group continued their lively discussion...

Inside the temple, Keiichi led Hild to Urd's room where she saw the body of her daughter, contained in a field generated by the two Valkyries to keep her barely alive.

Hild's face seemed impassive, but Keiichi could not help noticing that there was a twinkle in her eyes, as if they were wet. Then Hild ceremoniously sat on the floor, and signaled Keiichi to accompany her. At Lind´s signals one of the Valkyries placed a low table while another brought the cups for tea. Hild looked around and said.

- Lind, Sentaro, Ma-Chan, Dr Shugahara Please join us, I think this also concerns all of you.

Lind quietly came and sat next to Keiichi, watching every move of Hild. Hild continued with a poisonous sweet voice.

- Keiichi, Honey, Now I need to know everything about what happened here. She extended her hand to reach Keiichi´s head, but was interrupted.

- No, I am the other part of the contract, take my memories instead:

Hild smiled and extended her hand toward the doctor, then abruptly closed her fist. Shugahara could not help an exclamation of distress at the violence of Hild´s magic, who made no effort to soften it.

Hild closed her eyes as she scanned the doctor memories. Finally looked towards Urd and spoke, ignoring all.

- Urd, you faced a superior enemy and defeated him. You really are my daughter. Now I understand why Anang-Reng did not have all his power. In a way you also saved my life.

Then looked with curiosity at the three mortals in front of her:

- I recognize those auras, but I never expected to see them. Three mortals like you put together. Something strange must be happening.

She was interrupted by the tea service. Hild smiled with pleasure.

- Ah, Belldandy´s blends, I recognize she is the best.

The next half hour was excruciating. While taking her tea, Hild joked and made fun of those present, knowing she was the master of the situation.

But finally she finished and abruptly she stood up. Now her face expressed decision. Completely ignoring the audience, she approached the helpless bodies of the goddesses, and with a firm gesture extended her arms. The four Valkyries, who had been attending them, were thrown violently, breaking her trance.

Hild started singing a sweet song, hypnotic, primitive:

**Gengr Hildr vefa ok Hjörþrimul,**

**Vindum vindum vef darraðar**

**þann er ungr konungr átti fyrri:**

**fram skulum ganga ok í folk vaða**

**þar er vinir várir vápnum skipta.**

The bodies of the goddesses began to rise, their clothes were dissolved exposing their terrible wounds. For a moment Hild's face frowned seeing how much her daughter had suffered, but continued repeating her song. And then the bodies of the goddesses seemed to dissolve. From inside them long filaments started to emerged, they looked as streams of strange symbols.

Dr Shugahara screamed in horror as the body of Urd seemed to dissolve, he was about to interrupt but was stopped by Keiichi´s grip. He told him quietly.

- It´s all right, Hild is assembling their code, I have seen that before. She must locate and repair their damaged code. -

Keiichi's voice trembled, despite his reassuring words; he was impressed by Hild´s actions. Lind witnesed along with her Valkyries, Hild´s power. It was far beyond anything they could have done. Especially the youngest were impressed by that power and that level of control. It was the power of an enemy they had learned to hate and fear for millions of years.

Hild continued her singing, while manipulating the incredibly complex code that constitutes the true body of a goddess. Her song was really a means to convey programs, control applets and data verification code. She stopped briefly to find a routine that was damaged and repaired it with skill.

At the center of those streams of codes, lay a light form, which shone like a small sphere. It was their essence. It was their heart, it was contained by the incredible power of Hild that prevented it from scattering into a vacuum.

Hild finally finished her manipulations and reversed her movements. Slowly the body of the goddesses began to take form again. But this time their bodies were perfect, with no wounds or scars. Before the astonished eyes of the mortals, the naked bodies of the goddesses were reintegrated and slowly floated down to rest gently on the floor.

Hild made a final and dramatic gesture. She remained still for a moment and finally came to meet Urd, who lay on the floor. The beautiful goddess was surrounded by her silky white hair that enhanced her beauty. Her face was calm as if sleeping and her breathing was easy. But Hild was not looking at her body, she lost her cool attitude and gasped in surprise at the sight of Urd´s face and then uttered an exclamation of surprise upon seeing her face.

Keiichi heard the Valkyries also issue contained exclamations of wonder, and then asked Lind:

- Lind! What is happening, Urd´s marks are different, what does it mean? Has she become a demon?

Lind´s worried face did not bear good news - I'm not sure- She answered with concern - I thought it was not possible, she is no longer a half demon and half goddess with a goddess license. She has the marks of a full first class god and a full first class demon. It shouldn't be possible something like that.

Hild put her hand over Urd´s face, and then traced some symbols on it as she tried to cast a spell, but then Urd's body was surrounded by an energy field, as if refusing contact. Hild exclaimed angrily.

- A demon-god shield! Even I cannot penetrate it. It´s impossible! I cannot reverse it. Her body rejects me even though she is not aware of it. Urd, now you do not belong to any of our two realms.

Hild quivered, but remained silent, then suddenly turned around to see Shugahara.

- The first part of the contract has been fulfilled; she will awaken in a few minutes. But I no longer know what will be the fate of my daughter. Maybe it would have been better not to save. From now on, she will be rejected by Heaven and Hell.

Dr. Shugahara approached Hild, keeping his eyes firmly on the grand lady of Hell and said decisively.

-Urd will not be rejected by me or by anyone who loves her. No matter what, she is still alive and will find her own destiny.

Hild looked at that man, who had dared to speak. - So be it mortal man, but do not give too much importance to your brief existence. Today you have intervened in the fate of the gods and demons. It's not something you will be able do it again.

A sound interrupted him; the goddess began to wake up. Shugahara ran with Hild, while Keiichi was running out to get blankets to cover their naked bodies.

Keiichi returned in time to see Belldandy open her eyes. The goddess gave an exclamation of joy at her loved ones presence, and before he could react, she embraced and kissed him passionately, as if her life depended on it. Keiichi was surprised still with the blanket in hand, but soon responded to her, releasing all fear and all the emotions of the last days. He closed his eyes and tried to cover her body, while continuing their passionate kiss.

Meanwhile Urd opened her eyes and looked enraptured at the mortal who was hugging her and crying. Shugahara did not care she was now a demon- goddess, for she was simply Urd, his beloved one. The lovers intertwined their hands and looked into each others eyes, Urd exclaimed.

- Thanks Kenji. Thanks for everything you have done. Every time you were with me, I would have given anything to be able to answer you.

- Did you hear me?

Urd laughed joyfully: - I listened to your every word of love and every one of your crazy plans. You have become like those heroes of the old stories that you admire so much, you have intervened in the fate of the gods and have saved your goddess. Urd laughed at an occurrence - Now I will have to create a song so that your deed will endure for centuries.

- I do not need a song, I already I have my reward... And he kissed her tenderly and with eyes soaked with tears.

They were interrupted by Hild´s voice who with calculated irony mocked them...

- You will have time to be alone, now I need to fulfill the second part of my contract. I do not want to rush you, but I have a realm to win back.

The mortals and goddess looked at her remembering they were not alone. Belldandy and Urd exclaimed almost simultaneously.

- What contract?

Urd looked at his beloved Kenji with concern.

- What else did you ask my moth...? ... Hild?

Hild walked slowly toward Urd looked at her daughter with pride.

- That is how you pay me back after saving your life? You still do not dare to say "mother"?

Urd looked angry to her mother. - Hild, you know the reason. Remember that loyalty seal you imposed on me so many years ago. You know that if I say that word, it will be activated and I will forget the people I've grown to love.

Hild laughed, and pointed to Shugahara.

- You must not worry now about that. That mortal did the task of breaking the seal, but also did something that maybe you will not be so happy about. But even now, I still consider you my daughter. No matter what happens in the future.

Urd looked at Hild, she was the woman who she had admired as a child, and hated as an adult. And she felt the emotion hidden behind those words, a flood of memories washed over her, bittersweet memories of her days with her.

She looked at Shugahara, then looked at her mother and then with the fear of losing the memories of her love, said:

- Mo ... Mother?

Hild sighed deeply at those words, and then she leaned on the couple, and barely with a perceptible voice said.

- Mortal, for eons I have dreamed to hear that word again. I have a new debt with you. But do not abuse your luck.

Meanwhile, Keiichi and Belldandy continued to embrace. There were tears of happiness in Belldandy face. Her beloved sister finally had meet peace with her mother, and with a joyful voice said:

- Urd, you have finally found peace with your past. I am so happy. Hild-Sama. I appreciate what you have done for us, even if only for a contract. But now please tell me. What is the other part of the contract you must meet?

But Hild had no opportunity to respond. A light went through the roof of the temple and flooded Belldandy. The goddess gave an exclamation of surprise and rose leaving Keiichi aside. The light surrounded her but there was still more. It was much like the code streams they had seen before. They were beautiful streams of light that went into Belldandy´s body. After recovering from his surprise, Keiichi screamed for help to Lind.

But he noticed that Lind and the other Valkyries were motionless, as if they knew what was going on. So he turned around to see his beloved.

She seemed to suffer no harm. She was staring at the complex lines of code that were being integrated on her body. There was no fear on her face, just wonder. Then she turned to look at Keiichi, trying to say something but she could not speak.

Finally the light began to fade; it was reduced to a soft glow that surrounded the Belldandy´s body. Keiichi came and took her hands. He asked with concern.

- Belldandy, what´s happening? What it was that light? He looked at the face of the goddess and noticed that something had changed. - What happened to your marks? '

But Belldandy could not answer; she was interrupted by Lind who issued a command to her squad, in a grave voice.

- Elite Valkyrie squad. Come intermediately, change to dress uniform!

All the Valkyries were rapidly entering the room, while they change their uniform. They were no longer the Spartan combat uniform, but now wore golden embroidery designs, their hair now wore beautiful silver garlands that marked their ranks. They were forming around Belldandy, who seemed unable to leave her astonishment. Lind finally took over the group; put a knee on the ground, while all other Valkyries followed her. Then she bowed before Belldandy almost touching the ground, and greeted her with all her dignity as the high lider of her squad.

- The Valkyries elite squad greets you and we offer our loyalty to you,** Kamisama.**

End of Chapter XXI.

* * *

**notes:**

**Kami-sama:** I could have used "megami-sama", but the word "megami" meaning _female kami_ is a relatively recent addition to the language and is rarely, if ever, used in traditional sources since the work Kami traditionally is used for both male and female. So i preferred the traditional use.


	22. Chapter 22: Goddess among gods

_As most Fan fiction writers, I die for curiosity on hearing about your opinion._

Please! Comment! there is much more to come.  
Thanks for reading.

_Javier Delgado_

_(note: English is not my native language,  
please let know if some of my English offend you aesthetic sensibilities...)  
_

* * *

**The**** order ****of ****the ****Mortal ****Knights****.**

**By ****Javier ****Delgado ****Rosas**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XXII

Goddess among gods

Reng Anang walked slowly down a broad avenue, His eyes were full of wonder about the surroundings. Having been deprived of all sensory perception for a period of time he could not tell if it had been minutes or centuries, to be back in contact with his senses was almost like getting drunk and this was not any world.

The scene around him was beyond his wildest dreams.. He had lived in the closed spaces of Hell, so these wide open spaces, and buildings that seemed build of exquisite filigree instead of walls were completely alien to him. He was used to a world of bare rock and here there were gardens where even the livings beings were part of an aesthetic whole, smells, tastes, sensations, sounds and textures carefully crafted by an artist to produce a total experience. Everything seemed wonderful.

Intoxicated by such an assault to his senses, after the absolute negation of these, he took a lot of time before realizing where it was. This was heaven, the home of his ancestral enemies.

He stopped suddenly after being aware of his location. He looked deep into him, trying to sense the deep hatred that must had felt to this world and surprisingly found nothing. The absolute isolation of his senses had provided him with a strange inner peace.

Gradually he became aware of beings moving around. They were gods, some were arrogant, other more humble, but they all moved with a purpose in their eyes, and that purpose did not seem to have anything to do with the pursuit of power and prestige that was the norm in his world.

Anang Reng continued walking until he arrived to a park where several young gods exercised their skills in fun-filled camaraderie confusion and worry free. He soon discovered that no one seemed to pay attention to him. When a young god, in his game went through him, Anang-Reng realized that everything he saw had to be an illusion, an illusion projected directly into his mind. But for what purpose?

He tried to ignore that question and instead tried to enjoy those sensations before returning to the terrible isolation where he was sure he would be returned. He decided to continue exploring this world. It was a long time that seemed like hours. He arrived to a place where a young god was practicing what seemed a complex dance form. The movement seemed perfect, yet he still was not satisfied. Again and again repeated motion segments, and each attempt, he interrupted with a cry of anger. Anang-Reng could not help but remind his son when he practiced his combat exercises, trying to reach perfection.. Without realizing it, he remained absorbed in the contemplation of the young god, when heard a commotion behind him.

There was a majestic building, a beautiful filigree of glass, stone and other strange materials. He immediately guessed it´s purpose. The place of the great heavenly council.

But something happened, from within came a fiery glow, and the earth began to shake. There was something familiar in the phenomenon, and gave an exclamation of astonishment when recognized what he saw. It was from an ancient memory of the most terrible times of war between gods and demons. That glow was unmistakable and had hoped never to see again, as it was the energy contained in the body of an ancient god being released in a catastrophic and violent way. An old god had given his life to become himself and everything around him a funeral pyre.

In ancient days it was considered an honorable way to die rather than be defeated and at the same time, destroy as many enemies as possible. Judging by the intensity of what he saw, that must be had been a high level god.

But that was something only should occur on a battlefield, not in the middle of their own people. Anang Reng observed with a critical and expert eye as the magical defenses of the city tried to contain the destruction. The building itself had generated a field trying to retain that power, but it had been designed to defend against external attacks, not something from within. The building contained the fierce flame of destruction, but Anang-Reng knew that would not hold too much.

He looked around and saw many of the gods had also recognized the phenomenon and began to raise their physical barriers. With an inexplicable horror recalled the young man lost behind him. That God was his enemy yet he tried to warn him and scream a warning, until he remembered that he was non-existent for him.

He turn his gaze and and witnessed as the building dissolved in a fearful explosion of disintegrated matter, and vaporizing the nearby buildings of this beautiful world. He became mute with fear when the young god was swallowed by the raging plasma while screaming a painful cry of terror and surprise. Soon he saw the defenses of this world were beginning to contain the damage, but knew that many gods should have perished in the orgy of destruction.

Then realized the explosion did not caused any harm on him, as a reminding that this was just an illusion in his mind. The world around him was filled with confusion, cries of alarm, along the horror of destruction and death.

And then he heard a gruff and terrible voice that pierced his mind.

- You do not seem to be very happy. -

Then heard a laugh that filled him with pain

- What you saw really happened, it was not just an illusion in your mind. So you should be happy seeing your enemies humiliated this way ... But it was not for your pleasure, for I can not forget that you failed me. The plan was to strike down Hild and taking advantage of this confusion, so you would launch an attack on the realm of your enemies. Where I only see confused gods running, i should be seeing running gods full of terror, fleeing the wrath of the inhabitants of Hell.

The voice stopped, but now it spoke in anger, an anger terrible and frightening

- You gave failed, and are no longer useful, there are other ways to bring this world it´s knees, that maybe would provide me with more fun. Only I'll have to wait a little longer. But that can wait, now I must also plan how to make your own world suffer a punishment for having fail me.

Suddenly the scene changed, Anang-Reng was suddenly in his world, for a moment he was relieved to be back in a familiar place, but soon began to heard the cries of fear and confusion, and realized that Hell would soon to be tested on it´s ability to endure pain and suffering.

* * *

Jenny Rosenthal looked around unable to accept what she saw. With her trembling hands took a small sip from her cup of espresso, aspired to be filled with pleasure from the strong and delicious scent and tried to relax. Was this really her cubicle?

It did not seem to be very different from his previous cubicle, where surely now it had only one cup of cold coffee. But there was something different, the place of this cubicle .Then with barely contained excitement slowly spelled the sign on the door: - "CERN, LHC" ...

Her voice was choked. For a young post-graduate it was like being thrown directly in the middle of the quest for the holy grail. Not only that, here she was not a student who had to make merits. Just an hour ago, some of the greatest physicists of the world, people whose names she had only read about in scientific journals, had been questioned her in depth, with complex questions that she had answered without difficulty, so she had been congratulated !She had almost fainted, but these men and women had been accepted her into their group and the interrogation soon became a lively discussion, where string theory and quantum foam was mixed with non-dimensional universes.

Everything had been so untimely!. Just the day before she had run cold with fear in order to stop her planned experiment. She Almost spilled the hot coffee at the memories. She had failed to stop the synthesis of crystals, and surprisingly everything had worked as planned.

She was still assessing what had been done, when a group of men had almost torn her from the lab to take her to the airport with the promise to send her clothes and belongings later. She was only able to bring her laptop with the results of the synthesis and fruits of her labor. Before she could realize was was happening, She was on an special nonstop flight to Switzerland.

Gradually the fatigue and exhaustion began to take it´s toll, she barely had leaved the cup on the desktop when she fall asleep on the chair.

During her stay in the great laboratory, Jenny had been so excited, that barely had noticed a guard who followed her everywhere. The guard was a stern-looking man, his face had small scars, he was an expert who had protected politicians and celebrities. He was intrigued by this new job. From the window of the cubicle had observed as the girl fell exhausted. He entered silently and gently took her in his arms with no effort, to move her to the soft sofa in the cubicle. He stayed a while watching the serene face of the sleeping girl. Could not help a sigh wondering what secret could hold that young girl to justify the orders given to him. If necessarily he should give his life to protect her.

He turn off the light, silently left the place and took a chair to sat down, determined not to be separated from her. He was committed so under his vigilance, nothing would happen to her.

* * *

Eroviel looked at his victim as she slowly dissolved in the air; No, she was not one of "them". The prostrate figure lying on the floor, showed surprise and even sadness, as her consciousness dissipated in a vacuum leaving a just the crystallized shell of her body.

His tall, almost aristocratic figure, contrasted with his nervous face. A constant tremor in his lips betrayed his internal struggle. He knew had done something wrong, but Eroviel did not have spare time to think about it. Something told him he should not pity the dying goddess, instead he had to keep looking for "the others", no matter the cost. A blind hatred make him to look around him. In the distance saw a moving figure. It seemed harmless and defenseless, but would not be cheated, the voice in his brain told him that the enemy could take any form. He tried to calm down since he knew his clothes that identified him as a mentor would inspire confidence

He prepare his weapon and hidden it behind his body. It had stolen from a museum form the ancient times. This way he did´nt need to use his magic that would allow to trace him. He prepared to stalk the small approaching figure . She saw him with fear, but he smiled, the voice in his head told him he should hide his hatred. The small figure, a very young goddess, almost a child, saw his smile and sighed, then gratefully approached him. The man put his hand on his concealed weapon, he was lucky since he only had to wait until she get a little closer.

Suddenly the sky lit up, and the ground began to shake, while a powerful aura pervaded everything. Someone of great power should be approaching. Looked around in surprise, while the little goddess ran out scared to seek shelter. He ignored the little goddess and went looking for the origin of the phenomenon.

Then saw a magnificent spectacle even by the standards of a god. A great portal, which by its size announced the arrival of a powerful being, was opening in the sky. Inside it were dancing magical symbols that stabilized the space-time bridge between multiverses. He read the symbols, it was a multiverse portal connecting to the mortal world.

Eroviel smiled, it was a further proof of the invasion. From that damn place nothing good could come. Still, could not help shuddering in wonder at what he saw.

From the portal emerged a formation of warrior goddesses, with their angels floating in ceremonial pose. Finally in the position of honor there was a splendid goddess. He perceived she should be a powerful goddess, judging by her powerful aura and the rank of the warriors of her escort. They sang a slow and sublime hymn.

The sense of power emanating from the group was overwhelming. The goddess wore a blue and white gown, with lots of knots to hold what should be a great power, the warriors wore white dress uniform, adorned with the badges of their rank in the colors of the goddess: silver and blue.

The entrance to the goddess had been perceived by many, among the buildings slowly began to emerge figures dtill filled with fear, who looked upon the newcomer, their slow song filled them with hope, yet they did not dare to approach.

Eroviel was one of the closest to the group, and from within his heart a emerge a power sentiment, he felt admiration and pride about that marvelous being, yet the feeling was immediately rejected by and inner voice that demanded: - "do not be misled by the impostors."

The group descended slowly to the ground and with dignity landed on the ground. The warriors immediately moved into a formation to form an honor guard, and presented their weapons with admirable discipline and without loosing a single note from their singing. Their angels floated above the group emanating a continuous cascade of flakes of light, so the scene had a dreamlike quality.

Eroviel made an effort to overcome his inner feelings, and slowly approached to the great goddess. He was afraid to meet a haughty and proud face, instead found a sad face, with sad eyes and a sad smile.

It was a smile that seemed to touch his heart, something from within told him he should had to do everything possible to avert the sadness from that divine face, but soon the harsh voice reminded him to fight that feeling.

The highest ranking warrior from the group move to cross his path to the goddess, preventing his advance and asked with a stern voice:

- Who are you? , I can not see your rank and identification marks. What happened here?

Eroviel pretended to bow respectfully, and quickly tried to made up something..

- What happened to my marks? - He hesitated ordering his ideas, then his face lit up when he tough something to say.- After Yggdrasil went off line many of us lost our identities - Eroviel recalled as he had been pleased to get rid of those marks, those symbol of infection - But now the lack of marks is a good since we can distinguish ourselves from "the others".

Lind frowned at him with suspicion:

- Who are the others?

The god tried to fake fear, but his voice was unconvincing:

- We believe that there are intruders from outside, disguised with the marks of gods, so now we can identify them- suddenly the god accused- but you have marks, Who are you?

The warrior lifted her eyebrow in an attitude of disbelief. How could anyone in her world did not know about her? Something very strange was happening. She examined the god looking for some clues, then said.

- I'm just Belldandy´s servant, She the goddess among gods, who has returned to assume her place into our world.

Eroviel glanced at Belldandy with wonder, then ignoring Lind moved around her to approach the beautiful goddess, while the voice in his mind told him, "she must be of the others you have to end her." Lind let him to approach, she had her instructions, but signaled the Valkyries to watch him. Eroviel stood up before the great goddess and suddenly, screamed and drew his concealed weapon, a weapon from the first ones, feared by gods and demons, a weapon that could crystallize the body of a god and dissolve his mind. The weapon awakened and created what looked like a thin sheet of lace,it was designed to penetrate the body of a god and destroy his codes so that he could not regenerate ...

He was about to strike when his looked a the goddess eyes, but instead of fear, he saw sadness and piety. The goddess felt piety on him. Her look froze him, then she raised her hand, made a gentle movement and before he could react, his weapon had been dissolved. A split second later, his body was trapped by the magic of the Valkyries. The warriors had created a energy filed than imprisoned without possibility of escape

Lind slowly approached him and coldly commented:

- Do you really thought could cause her any harm? Do you still do not understand who she is?

Then the powerful goddess gave an order.

-Lind, release him, let him get closer to me.

Lind's eyes shone briefly and turned her face to confirm the order she had received, but seeing the face of Belldandy, and without hesitation gave the order to release him.

The god looked incredulous to the powerful goddess who had so easily disarmed him. He went at an arms length and was so startled by his growing motions that he began to ignore the voice that tried to control him. He saw in her beautiful and limpid blue eyes a tear and shuddered . He knew he was the culprit for that tear The goddess said:

- "Poor child, confused and afraid, please give me those feelings that weigh on your heart."

And the goddess extended her hand and put in the god´s breast, who cried when the suffering and guilt from the last days surfaced. He was now certain, he was guilty for that divine tear.

He expired all his breath and then then breathed violently, like a swimmer that reaches suddenly to the surface. He shivered from head to toe like a shrub shaken by the wind, he was breathing deeply, the mad look in his eyes had gone and cried in wonder:

- You are Belldandy!, Do you remember me?, I was one of your tutors , now you are... - He stared at Belldandy´s face in amazement, then fall on his knees and began to mourn. He hided his face and wept uncontrollably while saying- I knew it was your destiny, Goddess among Gods, I am so sorry, I've done terrible things, I have taken lives, please!, take my life just before the madness returns to me!. His body shook uncontrollably as he remembered what he had done. Then he felt something soft on his shoulder, it was the gentle touch of the goddess, and yet it was so irresistible that forced him to stand up and face Belldandy.

- Taking your life will not bring back those lives, I have seen the madness that was into you and I promise it will not to return, I have trapped in me - She touched him again and his body shuddered at the power of the goddess. His gods marks appear again, and said Eroviel, license first class god, medium level tutor. Belldandy read him like a book, her new status allowed access to all levels of information. The young goddess was took a few seconds before asking to the god:

- Eroviel, help us to save lives, be our guide to locate those who had the madness. With that you can pay your debt.

The god cried in happiness, his eyes had glowed as he was committed to his new duty, and said:

- My goddess, I will offer my life to fulfill your orders and repay my debt. Use my life as you see fit. I know where you will find most of the possessed, the voice was calling us to destroy Yggdrasil control nodes, and i think they succeed, but there must be one left, that's where you will find them. They should be attacking now the main control center.

Lind looked questioningly at Belldandy , and she nodded. Belldandy trusted that god since she had touched his heart. Lind smiled, she had no doubts on Belldandy. No she call some of the Valkyries form the squadron.

- Go to our headquarters, summon all the squads, even call the recruits and applicants. We need all available, but be careful. I suspect this madness could affect anyone including us, so seal them immediately if you found something suspicious. Later we will have time to verify, but we must prevent further dangers. From the headquarters follow Eroviel to prevent further damages to Yggdrasil. We will met you there.

Lind turned to see the god, who was looking expectantly, eager to help..

- Guide them, and tell them everything you know about this madness. Our lives may depend on it.

The god was grateful for this opportunity. He knelt before Lind, and Belldandy, then rose in the air, and prepared to guide the Valkyries. After the group left, Lind looked questioningly at Belldandy, and said:

- You should´t do that again. I could feel how you became weaker by absorbing his madness, you used your own vital energy, even if Yggdrasil comes fully on line again, it will take time to get your full power as Kamisama.

Belldandy closed her wet eyes and sighted, then replied:

- If I have no other choice, I will do it each and everyone who has this madness. I have tasted it and felt how much pain can cause. Perhaps Urd could help us with her potions, but has a mission to fulfill first. The information that came from Hell also spoke of the madness that pervaded the inhabitants. If she manages to find a cure for them, it will help us.

Belldandy's eyes narrowed as decision was formed in her mind.

- We can not have been more deaths, I command you to capture all who had this madness and bring them to me. Keiichi has taught me that although he is only a mortal, he always gives everything he can to help others, I can do no less.

Lind wished to protest, but knew that Belldandy has already decided, and the would no way to change her mind. For an instant she let her face to show her emotions and her concern, but soon recovered so turned to speak to her squad.

- Kamisama has spoken. You already had seen this madness and know how to identify it, capture all who had been possessed in our way and bring them to Kamisama to be healed.

The Valkyries nodded accepting orders and rose in the air to look for those possessed by the madness. Lind looked around, noting the general destruction, she seemed unmoved, but all who knew her could feel her suffering, she allowed a slight sigh and commented to Belldandy

- Keiichi's reports were correct in every detail. Keiichi-san seems to know our world better than we do. He must have a high-level access, I hope to see he soon to know how he got it. I never expected that I could trust so much in a mortal.

Belldandy shuddered at the name of her beloved, she also wished to see him soon:

- Do you think he will be safe? This madness has already invaded heaven and Hell, can affect the mortal realm?

Lind allowed himself a slight smile:

- The order of mortal knights will know hot to defend themselves Even without magic they have done so much for our world. Ghadril is with them and would teach them to use their weapons. Few are able to face the weapons of the first born, Kamisama.

Kamisama!, That title again, Belldandy could not accept that she was referring to her. She realized that even if before birth she was predestined to bear that title, somehow she had hoped to avoid it.

Kamisama! That word sounded strange and distant. Belldandy as in the middle of a dream began to remember what had happened after Lind had proclaimed the loyalty of her squadron.

She looked around, everywhere she could see destruction and was sure that death lay beneath the ruins. Her face filled with tears for those who had perished and knew it was her responsibility to prevent any more deaths. She would not fail them!, No matter how many sacrifices she had to do. She closed his eyes for a moment and recapitulated the events of the last hours while that word was still echoing in her mind.

Kamisama!

* * *

Belldandy saw again the moment when Lind had made the pledge of loyalty from the Valkyries squad. She was standing in the middle of the room, covered only with a blanket, surrounded by a squad of warriors in full dress uniform, trying to accept that word was meant to her: "Kamisama". The silent was overwhelming, but it was broken by Hild.

- So the little goddess finally fulfilled her destiny. But my dear Bell-chan, you would not expect me to call you with that ridiculous title. I really do not think a goddess so delicate and inexperienced like you would be able to sustained it for long.

Hild's words felt like a bucket of cold water into the group, but Belldandy appreciated them, since they helped her to react. She knew her goddess code had been reconfigured, but it was not Yggdrasil, but an emergency subsystem. From her childhood she had been instructed on this process, but this was not accord those plans, so she was not sure what to expect. She could feel how her goddess powers were increasing, far beyond a first class goddess, so soon she would need limiters to control it.

It was hard to focus with all these new sensations and the already it was to control her current power. She tried to forget about her and concentrated on the situation around her. Shugahara-san and Urd were still embraced, and she could feel Skuld awakening, and how Sentaro-kun was overjoyed. There was Lind and her squad, awaiting her orders. And the demon energy form Hild and Marler. She extended her perception and felt a group of mortals outside the temple. But something was missing. She could not feel Yggdrasil!

There was more energy coming into her, she extended her arms to feel it and taste it, and realized that something was wrong. There should be a flow of information and knowledge explaining her everything. So that was it, Yggdrasil was only partially operational. So what authority had risen her to Kamisama? So it was really an emergency procedure, without ceremony or notice. She shuddered at the conclusion. that only mean one thing. Kamisama and the main heavenly council were dead or disabled, son they were not able to appoint a successor. A really desperate measure. She gave a questioning look at Keiichi and asked:

- Keiichi what happened? This should not be happening yet. - Pointing to her new marks.

Keiichi scratched his head, How much would Belldandy have change?, but Belldandy just looked at him and he realized she was still the same. He tried to explain the situation:

-Belldandy, Kamisama is dying, all the council members are dead, and the main Yggdrasil core has been deactivated by a series of attacks to the most important control nodes ...

Belldandy was left dumbfounded, then looked at Hild with suspicion.

- Does it have have something to do with the second wish from Shugahara Sensei?

Again it was Keiichi who answered.

- After Yggdrasil failed, all communication with the earth and Heaven was cut, I thinks it´s called Crimson alert- Belldandy gave a short cry in surprise, never before that alert had been issued. - and Lind was trapped in the earth, but I ... - Keiichi stopped, he was not comfortable at revealing his source of information, but this was too important - I was able to contact heaven. Urd leaved a back door access to Yggdrasil on my computer.

He was interrupted by Urd

- Keiichi, how on earth did you found out!

- I prefer not to disclose that now, but I managed to contact Peorth. She explained my everything. I was able to contact the sky was looking for help to save you, contact Peorth who I mean everything,

Belldandy have not doubt about Keiichi´s word, but still it was son incredible, she needed to try it. Maybe she could not feel Yggdrasil because the blockade. Belldandy spread her hands, with her new status she had authority to cancel any blockage. She chanted an counter spell and felt how the communication barriers were shattered, she would no longer required to use the phone line to access Yggdrasil, But still, she could not found Yggdrasil, nor any communication channel, only the low-level functions that were increasing her power. They were only automatic and independent functions. She was now Kamisama and yet could not communicated with heaven, yet, Keiichi, a mortal, had done it. He had contacted directly to her realm.

Was this the reason that the system had protected Keiichi so much? Because it had anticipated the combination of opportunities, talents and motivations that one day would give Keiichi this decisive capability? If so, the future that she dreaded was under way. That future where Keiichi would die in terrible circumstances. At the memory of that awful vision, Belldandy felt week.

Keiichi, who had been watching her, hastened to support it, completely ignoring the reaction of the Valkyries who instinctively made ready to defend her, but froze before a forceful gesture of Lind.

- Belldandy, are you okay?

The contact with Keiichi reassured her. She took a depth breathed in order to recover, she could not afford to be weak and never in her life she had given up. She had been trained hard all her life for this moment and Keiichi would need her. She now was Belldandy , goddess among gods, no matter what happened, countless lived depend on her actions. She looked at the young man who was holding her and gave the most honest answer she could.

- Keiichi Sorry, it's just that I'm still confused. There are dire implications for what is happening- she took Keiichi´s hand and look at him with her limpid blue eyes, goddess ´s eyes that despite everything that had happened, maintained their innocence and trust in others.

She concentrated to dissipate her confusion and left behind those fears, but suddenly she felt embarrassment in Keiichi, who looked flushed and nervous. Then realized she had let slip the blanket that covered her partially allowing her body to be shown and could not help smiling at his reaction. Keiichi was more affected by her woman´s body than her new status. A trivial fact, yet important to her, and this led her to considered she would need a new dress. A dress that she would need to contain the energy that still was flowing into her, the dress of a Kamisama. She touched gently Keiichi's face and forced him to see her, then stole him a fleeting and delicate kiss, wish left Keiichi astonished.

Belldandy had always lived in a world of rules, and always had obeyed them, until she found now difference between her own wishes and those rules. But now she feel different, maybe it was the euphoria of the moment and for all her new powers, but she felt that those rules were a thing of a nebulous past.

Now Belldandy took a few steps back and with a brief gesture she dissolved the blanket offering Keiichi a brief glimpse of her goddess body before a new outfit covered her. This new outfit was completely different from anything he had seen before. It had some of the style of the ceremonial dress of a goddess, but at the same time was much more rich and elaborated. The white cloth had barely visible subtle prints full of magical language and throughout the body, it had magical seals that would help her control the powerful magic of her title. Blue ornaments and silver thought that dress complemented and enhanced her elegance and dignity.

Belldandy tried to analyzed her new self. It was not only her new role, there was more. She realized that before she had met Keiichi, she would had accepted this fate as inevitable, just another step in her long list of duties. But with Keiichi a new feeling had been growing, a feeling of rebellion against the roles that had been assigned to her before birth. She looked at Urd and a new empathy bond formed between them. She could now understand the rebellious feelings of her sister.

She looked into Keiichi´s eyes again, delighted in his shy smile and treasure it. Her new rebellious self, realized that the old Belldandy, would never had took the luxury of devoting a few seconds to her love before assuming their duties.

Finally straightened and her posture acquired a new dignity, and addressed Hild and took her duty.

- Hild-Sama, great Daimakaicho, as Kamisama I have the authority to ask you for a change in the second part of your contract with Sensei Shugahara. The vision of the great leader of Hell breaking out by force into Heaven, leading a squadron of Valkyries could create the wrong impression ...

Hild laugh lively at the statement ...

- You are thinking now as a lider. I really wished to enjoy that moment. Usually I would have declined that offer, but I am curious about what you have in mind.

Keiichi reacted in terror, he had not thought of that ...

- Belldandy, I am sorry, I did not imagine something like this could...

- Keiichi-san, No need to apologize, it was the only option you had. A desperate measure for desperate time. After the initial shock my people would have been grateful to you, but now it´s unnecessary, soon I will have the power to do it myself. But something puzzles me. How did you convince Hild to accept all this? A contract with a demon requires something of similar value in return. I do not imagine what you could offer to Hild.

Urd and Shugahara still were embraced, but on hearing this, the doctor break away from his beloved and spoke:

- We offered Hild to return her full powers. Powers she lost in the great battle with Kamisama 50 million years ago.

Belldandy put her hand over her mouth in an involuntary gesture of surprise. No god or demon could have offered something similar. Only a strange combination of circumstances could have given a mortal such capacity, and as with Keiichi, that could not be a coincidence. The doctor continued ...

- But also, something happened in Hell, for Hild was on the verge of death. So what we really gave to lady Hild was the chance to save her life, the life of her daughter and I guess the chance to save her world.

Hild uttered an indignation cry and with an almost imperceptible movement caste a spell designed to punish such insolence. Belldandy raise her hand to block the spell, but before she had the opportunity, a furious lightning strike, dissolving it into a harmless puff of smoke. Urd exclaimed with deep anger in her voice:

- Mother!, never again you would try something similar. I will not allow it.

Hild could not help showing surprise.

- Urd, your power has grown far beyond a first class goddess, I'm impressed ...

Urd was prepared to face her mother, but before she could say anything else, and imposing an authoritative voice exclaimed:

- Stop!, Hild-sama I do not want more games, it's time to talk.

For a brief instant the powerful Hild felt like a scolded child, such was the new power Belldandy´s voice. she look surprised at the kind goddess who now continued in a solemn tone

- Have you realized what's happening? Our two realms are in danger at the same time. That can not be a coincidence.

Hild was left for a moment without speech, she realized Belldandy was right. It was too coincidental, and worst, she was oblivious to what was happening in her own realm.

Belldandy realized she had touched a nerve, but still needed to push harder ...

Tell me, do you really know what is happening in your realm right now?

Hild attempt to appear calm, but Belldandy felt that it was another sore spot. Suddenly the goddess had a start, when realized was she was trying to do. She was trying to manipulate Hild using the circumstances and her ego. It was not like her, to play a game to this kind. Could something else had been added into he code to make her Kamisama? But it was too late to turn back. She had to finish that game, but should became more aware of her own actions ...

Hild, was annoyed by her own ignorance, She ordered:

- Marler, return to Hell, I need a full report the situation. I can´t - She hesitated at revealing a weakness- I can´t have direct contact.

Marler rushed to kneel Hild´s feet, her battered suit and her still clumsy movements betrayed her recent meeting with Lind. Still, her voice left no doubt of her commitment to her duty.

- Yes my lady

And hurried to leave, but a gesture of Hild stopped her.

- Wait, I need to take control of my bodyguard, and the army. They would not obey to the clumsy and inept Marler.

Marler stayed silent but her face revealed her shame. She was nothing after all.

But Hild smiled and extended her hand to touch Marler forehead then proclaimed:

- Marler the inept, the buffoon, Urd´s covert guardian should stop to exists now.

She traced some magic symbols and Marler´s inverted triangle disappeared to be replaced by a polygon, then her battered clothes disappeared to be replaced by a rich and ornamented uniform. Marler trembled at a surge of power that went into her.

- You are now, Hild´s Druhting, my guards and my armies will now obey you.

Marler touch her face amazed, and commented ...

- Druhting! But that title has´nt been used in eons!

- For eons there has been no one I could trust as you. Now, be prepared to serve me, take this ...

Hild closed her hands and hummed softly. After opening them again, there was a small green crystal. It was identical to those, that mortals had named Hild's tears, but this time Hild was no crying. She looked at Marler in a solemn tone temporarily abandoning her usual mocking tone.

- Take this and restore the energy to those that have been faithful to our realm. You were right, I can not do everything alone You have the authority to organize them. Now go.

There was a new brightness in Marler´s eyes. All had been completely unexpected, then overcoming her emotion she barely could say - I will fulfill your orders.

She put a knee on the ground and bowed to Hild, but her servile attitude had gone, it had been a heavy and painful disguise she had to worn, but it was no longer necessary. She bowed with respect, then without another word she walked away. She had to return to her headquarters where there was a portal to Hell.

Belldandy was about to talk when heard an inconsolable cry ... - Skuld? Had something happened to her? As a response she was nearly toppled when the little goddess jumped on her inconsolable crying ...

- Bampei! ... - She barely could talk between sobs - Bampei and Siegel were destroyed! It's not fair.

Suddenly, she felt Hild presence who looked at her with a mocking attitude. Skuld reacted violently.

- She!, She is the culprit!, we were attacked by demons, she must have know it!

The little goddess produce one of her infamous bombs, that she seemed to have in an unlimited quantity, and prepare to throw it. But Belldandy took her hand and the bomb simply fade away, and then hug her sister, while spoke in a soothing tone to her.

- Siegel and Bampei were faithful to you until their last moments. We owe our eternal gratitude, and their essence has been reintegrated with the cosmos, keep them in your goddess heart and they will live within you, we can not do more. Hild is not the culprit, Urd and me owe her our lives. She is now a guest of honor and you must respect her.

Skuld sob for a while, ignoring Hild impatience, but gradually calmed down, finally left her sister arms, and for the first time realized about her new marks and was stunned by the surprise.

- Belldandy those marks... How is it possible ...? What happened to you?

Belldandy gently placed his finger on Skuld´s lips, and told her:

- Please, have a little patience, Sentaro kun will be able to explain what happened, and I must told you, he fought valiantly along with Keiichi-san and Shugahara Sensei to defend us. You must be proud of having him as a friend. Go with him. He will be glad to tell you his story. Right know, I need to attend to our guest, the lives of many depend on it.

Skuld looked shyly towards Sentaro -kun and blushed then went with him. Meanwhile Belldandy faced an irritated Hild:

- Hild-sama, I think it would be wise to wait for news from your realm, meanwhile we need to talk and forget all about political considerations and diplomacy. We need the truth. Your words toward Marler have shown to me your real hearth. I've always known your attitude is just a shield, You really care about your people and I know you will do everything possible to protect them. At this time our worlds are vulnerable, and we cannot afford to attack each other. I propose a "magna truce" between our two worlds.

Hild gaped and looked incredulous to the goddess. "Magna Truce"? that is a word not heard in millions of years ...

- For a newbie in this job you are taking big risks. I doubt the heavenly council would approve it, not even the old Kamisama would have been able to impose his will on this subject. Nor I see a reason for it. We can take care of our own worlds. Name one reason I would want a **Magna Truce**.

Belldandy looked at Hild with the expression of a teacher who needs to explain something to a student.

- Hild-sama, the great heavenly council no longer exists. So i just need to convince you, and there is a reason you need to consider: "The doublet system" ...

Keiichi had been attentive to the conversation. Since he had been looking for information about Belldandy he had learned lot of heavenly history, and understood Belldandy´s words, unable to contain himself intervened:

- Yes!, Many gods have died, but since because Yggdrasil is down, the doublet system has not been enforced, but when the system would be restored many demons would be executed.

Hild was silent, she had already consider a truce since she knew her position was weak, but there was no way she could invoke her alone. She would need to convince her people, but that would have been like publicly accept her weakness, instead the fear from death due to the doublet system was a big argument, not even she was exempted from the system. Then she had a hunch and looked with new respect to Belldandy.

- Was that your intention all along? You were caring about my people?. You will gain little on this truce. If the old Kamisama had proposed it, I would have doubted his purpose. But you are incredibly naive and honest, so I know I can trust you.

They were interrupted by a commotion from outside, Marler had returned but she was not alone. A young demon came with her, along with two of Hild´s bodyguards. Behind them the two big demons with hypertrophied muscles and blank stare, were completely covering the entrance. The Valkyries adopted combat position, blocking their path. Suddenly the tension in the room had risen.

Marler looked at Hild, there was concern on her face, so ignoring the Valkyries she began to report:

- Hild-sama, madness has invaded Hell. There are fights and riots, many believe there is an imminent invasion and infiltrators among us. You're absence had made things worst. We must act before the situation deteriorates.

Belldandy gently commented:

- Lind let them pass, Marler I think the guards should stay out, the take up too much space, maybe we can offer them some tea.

The word tea related to the big demons bought a smile on everyone and the tension was defused instantly..

Marler bought Walharen before Hild. The young demons was very nervous, he had never been out of her realm, and now was surrounded not only by Hild but by his most powerful and fearsome enemies. He looked awed at Lind and Belldandy, swallowed and started his report. Hild's face hardened as she heard the news..

The situation seemed eerily similar to what was going on on heaven. What had started a rebellion against Hild from some of Anang Reng allies, had been become chaos, everyone fought each other. Fortunately Nidhogg was intact and Marler had issued orders to protect it, however the chaos seemed to increase exponentially, the demons were affected by a strange madness, regardless of gender, age or rank.

Hild look at Belldandy said wryly:

- Bell chan, it seems you were right. Ans seems the grand council of Hell has also been dissolved or rendered unusable, so I would need not their approval. Now we need something more. The Magna Truce was established in the early days, when there were other races that could arbitrate, Who take their place?

Belldandy took her hand to her mouth, she still had not thought that part. She had forgotten that part of the ceremony. She need three judges, three beings with an aura of wisdom, then realized there three mortals with and special aura among them. Was it that?, Keiichi-san was about to fulfill his destiny and take the first step toward his death?. She looked at the young mortal, How could she protect him and keep him from that fate?. And how about the other mortals Shugahara-san and Sentaro Kun?. What forces could have put them together? Would they share Keiichi´s destiny? Belldandy had now answers and for a moment felt weak. Belldandy fought to recovered her poise sighted and finally proclaimed in a ceremonial tone.

-Here we have our three judges, as tradition demands. I invoke the names of Morisato Keiichi, Shugahara Kenji, and Kawanishi Sentaro as our judges.

Even the disciplined Valkyries could not restrain an astonished exclamation. The named mortals, slowly approached and stood before Belldandy. They were not sure what they would be required to to, but they were ready to do it, they realize it was important. Kenji was the first to speak.

- I'm not sure what to do, but voluntarily we offer ourselves to any task you ask. I think I speak for the three of us. Keiichi and Sentaro nodded in approval.

Hild slowly approached examining with a critical eye the three mortals.

- Three mortal as judges? Even though their auras meet the requirements , they have no power. They must have power to support their authority ...

Belldandy was thinking along the same lines. As Kamisama maybe she could gave them power, but that would go against the protocols, suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by Lind.

- We can provide them with power to meet the truce protocols. Urd, the last time we meet, I gave something to you I was not sure what prompted me to do that, maybe it was a premonition, but it will be suitable for this.

Urd looked incredulously at Lind, - Lind, is this really you. Have they won your trust to that point? Lind offered a faint smile as answer and bowed to the mortals, then spoke: - I felt Keiichi´s aura. I know i can trust him, as much as you trust Shugahara-san, and i have seen Sentaro-san courage. They are deserve our trust. Urd smiled and answered.

- I also trust them, still I am not sure which is more insane Lind or Belldandy, but these are desperate times. It will fun to find out how it works. Urd paused and changed her tone to address her mother: - Hild, do you think the weapons of the first born will be enough power for you?

Hild´s astonishment soon spread to all. The weapons of the first born. The weapons of their ancestors before becoming gods, symbols of a past lost in the mists of time even in the almost eternal memory of the gods. Hild soon recovered and spoke with seriousness:

- It is acceptable, but only because I still have an open contract with one of these mortals.

Urd bowed to her mother, accepting her decision and continued:

- Now we need to proceed with the ceremony. -She approached Keiichi, and in a solemn attitude Keiichi had never seen in Urd, especially addressed to him, Urd told him:

- Morisato Keiichi. You are the appointed guardian of the temple Tarikihongan. This place has been considered sacred by your people, now I ask your permission to also make this temple land sacred to gods and demons ...

Keiichi was caught out of guard, ha had never thought this place he now called home could be considered under his custody. He looked nervously around looking for help, but Belldandy smiled at him, and nodded. Keiichi understood, he gulped and finally tried to speak using the solemn tone Urd had used. Belldandy.

- I, Morisato Keiichi, as assigned guardian of the Tarikihongan temple, accept your request.

- Thanks Keiichi. - Urd looked at his mother and Belldandy. - To be honest, this ceremony is so ancient, i never expected to be part of it, yet everything is fitting and it had been written and prepared beforehand. So lets go on. Belldandy and Hild should purify themselves and then proceed to the sacred ritual. Since i am no longer a Demon or a Goddess I can appoint the judges.

- Lind and ... - Urd hesitated, looking at Marler she felt nervous. She had not been her enemy, but her covert guardian. How appropriate that she would have to work with Lind, who had also been her guardian, so nodded to Marler trying to convey the new respect she had for the demon.

- Lind and Marler will offer laterto the judges the level 3 access codes for Yggdrassil and **Níðhög**, as the protocol demands, so they can verify the terms of the truce are being held.

The three mortals looked nervously to each other, the were not sure what would be expected from them. Lind and Marler left the room, including all the Valkyries. After their departure, Kenji looked nervous to Urd and asked:

- What is happening ? What will happen now?

Urd approached, took his hand and to reassure him:

- Kenji, trust me. Soon I will explain everything. Currently you only have to worry about giving me a name for refer you as judges..

Sentaro suddenly interrupted.

- We already have a name, We are **″the order of the mortal knights**″.

Skuld, still with eyes red from crying, took Sentaro´s hand and said:

- That´s a wonderful name!

Urd looked at Kenji, as if ready to hear one of Shugahara jokes.

- Was that your idea?

Shugahara said sheepishly: - In fact the credit goes to Sentaro.

- Then that will do it. From now on,** the order of the mortal knights** will be recognized with respect by gods and demons. Starting today, your name will be legend.

End of Chapter XXII

* * *

**notes: **

Druhting; The old saxon word for **seneschal** ,or steward . I chose this title as it sounds more archaic.


	23. Chapter 23: Curiosity

_As most Fan fiction writers, I die on hearing about your opinion._

Please! Comment! there is much more to come.  
Thanks for reading.

**_Javier Delgado_**

_(note: English is not my native language,  
please let know if some of my English offends you aesthetic sensibilities...)_

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

**By Javier Delgado Rosas**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XXIII

**Curiosity**

- Mademoiselle Rosenthal ...

That was the only thing Jenny could understand, the rest were unintelligible words. Deep into her brain something told her it had to be French, but the info did not help to understand it. The jet lag and the exhaustion had taken its toll.

Then she felt she was shaken gently while the words continued. Slowly her body began to respond, she opened her eyes and saw only a blurred male figure leaning toward her. But all she wanted was to go back to sleep.

- Please do not bother me ...

The voice remained insistent. It was very masculine and friendly, so she gradually began to react. Whose voice was? she did not live with anyone? ... Finally she awakened and recalled that she was not in her apartment.

- Where am I? - she managed to babble and the voice laugh in seductive way.

Finally could focus her thoughts while strong hands helped her straighten up and sit on the overstuffed sofa. The blanket that covered her slipped down leaving behind their cozy warmth.

She looked around and remembered she was now in the CERN facilities at Switzerland. Her memories began to return but she was terribly tired. She could remember sipping a coffee while was sitting behind her desktop. Who had taken her to the sofa and and covered her? Could have been this man?

Then she received the aroma of a delicious and strong coffee that someone put on her hands. She sniffed it and then sucked greedily. At the same time she felt that someone pun on her glasses. Finally she was able to focus her sight. A man who had a familiar face smiled in front of her.

- Mademoiselle Rosenthal!- he repeated - I'm sorry to wake up you so early - He said this time in English but with a strong yet nice accent- but your presence has been requested and seems to be something important.

The man definitely had a martial appearance, with a face tanned by the sun and a some small scars. He wore a sober military uniform and came heavily armed.

W. .. wh.. Who are you? - She looked at him embarrassed, definitely he was not one of the scientists at CERN

I am sergeant Philippe Valois, and currently assigned to be your bodyguard.

My what? Are you kidding?- she said incredulous - I think I remember you. You've been following me!. I thought you were just a guard here.

The man laughed with a width grin - I am more than a guard, right now my mission is to protect you

- Protect me? Why? I am nobody, just a student ...

- It seems not everyone thinks the same. Everyone has been talking about you and about your safety, so something must worry them. My work usually involves only problematic diplomats. You are really a welcome change. I can say you are more attractive than them.

Jenny could not help blushing, accustomed to the campus nerds, a compliment so direct was disconcerting.

- Please come with me. - he paused and looked at her, then smiled - But before going to the meeting, maybe I can get you a change of clothes, something to comb your hair and maybe a little make up. I think the meeting will be full of important people that want to see you. You shall cause a good impression ...

Jenny was left speechless, she rarely cared about her personal appearance, but she recognized her current appearance was a total disaster and without further protest, she got up and let herself to be led by the man.

Meanwhile, one of the warehouse of the main building at CERN there was a frenetic activity. There had been a call for an urgent general meeting at the warehouse SM18. This was a free area, originally had been used for the initial design and test of superconductors, but now it was used for meetings and celebrations such as LHCfest. It was a large warehouse with space for about hundred people.

But something important must have happened and the frenetic activity was transforming the space. Some technicians quickly have installed several projection screens and video projectors connected to several computers, others had assembled a platform with a long table for personalities, and still others placed speakers and a sound system. As people arrived, they took a folding chair and accommodated as best they could, most formed small groups around friends.

The minutes passed slowly, suddenly a big "ahhh!" was heard emitted by a hundred voices. People from the kitchen staff had brought several carts with coffee, biscuits and some snacks and everyone fell upon them. The food announced the meeting would be long. Some of them hoped that with luck they could even enjoy the specialty of the chef at CERN, ice cream cooled with liquid nitrogen .

The VIPs started arriving and took their place at the table on the platform. The air was filled with the sound of hundreds of people commenting and speculating about the purpose of the call.

Finally everything seemed ready to go. The projection screens were lit, and on several of them appeared the images from other groups of people, signs on each screen showed there were from important places: Brookhaven, JPL, CNRS , Oak Ridge Institute , Astrogad, Tokyo University, JST in Japan, the CHEP at Beijing etc. They were more than twenty of the most important institutions of education and science around the world and now they were all interconnected, all of them also showed images of worried and surprised people.

An old Japanese-looking man stood up and took a microphone, then waited. Soon there was a silence.

- Good evening everyone, in case someone does not know me, I'm Professor Yoichiro Nambu, professor Emeritus at the Chicago University, and the old guy behind the Nambu-Goldstone bosons - a cheerful laughter was heard after the last statement -. I will try to be brief. In recent days many of you have heard strange rumors. Today I come to clarify what really lies behind those rumors, and let me tell you. What I am going to tell you much stranger than you have heard so far.

Not a sound was heard. The introduction had achieved its purpose. He had captured everyone's attention.

- Most of you have heard about the destruction of the laboratory of materials at Chiba University due to strange circumstances, but we've been hiding the real causes. Now the time has come to inform you what happened, I will show you several sections of video taken by security cameras so you can judge by yourself what really happened. I was present at the incident and assure you that everything is real. I ask you do not bring questions at the moment. This is just the introduction to something bigger.

An annoyed voice was heard.

- What can be so great to convene such a meeting and suspend all activities at the LHC? We were about to start a run on the big one, it will take us days to restart and recalibrate the equipment.

Dr. Nambu, smiled, then dropped a bomb

- Do you think that verifying the string theory and the confirmation of the existence of the multiverses seems to be big enough to justify this? - As expected the silence was absolute- Now please watch this video.

Soon hundreds of scientists, technicians, engineers and other specialists from around the world were silent witnesses of the destruction of the laboratory and the heroic act of a strange girl with the incredible ability to contain an incandescent plasma discharge.

At the end of the video, the audience became silent, but slowly began to grow the sound of hundreds of voices calling for an explanation. The words "fabricated, impossible, special effects, extraordinary joke" were heard.

Dr. Nambu let rumors run a little more, it was inevitable, yet he knew more fantastic events were still to come. Finally he raised his arms to call for silence.

- "Please, Silence all!" Soon you receive answers, for the time being I will just tell them some facts. We were investigating a crystalline substance, whose structural mesh appears to extend into other dimensions. According to our estimates, what we saw was the result of releasing the energies of the Planck limit, and that girl in the video is a being from another universe, she is a being from a civilization so advanced that their technology seems ...

A voice at the back shouted:

- Clarke's Third Law. A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic!

There was nervous laughter among those present. Something told them this was not a joke, but it was too incredible to accept it . Professor Nambu smiled at the remark, and then continued.

- Yes indeed, their technology seems like magic to us, and from now on you will hear that word often. Those video images occurred several days ago. Since that time even more extraordinary events have occurred...

Professor Nambu interrupted his explanation, he discerned at the back of the room a small feminine figure accompanied by a large man. She looked stunned, looking at the screens ...

- Ah! Ms. Rosenthal, I am glad you were able to watch the video. You had already seen some pictures of it, but we had omitted some important parts in the report we send to you. Please join us at the table. Hundreds of eyes turned to see the young girl who had received inside information that no one else had seen before.

She hesitated and could not move. Jenny was still stunned by the video and to be the center of attention did not help, but the corpulent figure behind her, pushed her gently. And before she knew, she was in the table reserved for the VIPs. Professor Nambu continued:

What you saw in the video was the result of excitation of a few milligrams of a crystal synthesized by Dr. Shugahara, a specialist in ethnobotany, and if I understand correctly, that substance is part of the ingredients of an ancient magic potion ...

The audience reaction was swift as he expected. Hundred voices shouted in protest but were silenced by Professor Nambu.

- Soon some of you will receive technical details about the crystal structure, but I must warn you. It is extremely unstable. You have already seen the result ... However, this brilliant women here, Ms. Jenny Rosenthal from the Argonne National Laboratory, was able to analyze it and then she synthesized a much more stable variant of the crystal. Ms. Rosenthal conceived some variations in the crystal structure but they will not be published until we could verify them. Her work is brilliant and in the future you will often heard her name. But most importantly, we have showed you this video so you can realize how dangerous it could be experimenting with this compound without having complete data.

Another shout was heard ...

- But how do we know this is real? - Many voices were heard approving the commentary.

- As you have seen, I was present and I was a witness, but more important, besides the video and the physical evidence of the damage, we have all the data and readings from the experiment. This experiment will be replicated in more controlled conditions once we finish in the post-Morten of the first experiment. That would take some time, but before that you will see something else. We have received a number of reports and videos of an extraordinary event that happened at the city of Nekomi, near Chiba University. What happened there is truly incredible, and yet seems to be the preamble to something much bigger.

A soft murmur was heard in the classroom. Despite the doubts, the scientists were really impressed. Professor Nambu waited a few minutes in order to allow the free exchange of ideas and then continued:

- We will show you and edition of several videos that we have received, we edited them to have some continuity, but if you doubt about it´s veracity I will send you an encrypted address where you can download other videos that were taken from several cell phones. Unfortunately some of those videos had been uploaded to youtube and other public sites, but we have requester their owners to remove them, while we can not avoid the news to come out, we want to delay it until we have a proper explanation. I assure you, soon all of you will get all the information since the purpose of this meeting is to discuss how we are going to deal with it. Eventually all this has to be known, there will be a lot of questions, so we must have proper answers.

Professor Nambu gave an order to play another video, and commented:

- The audio from the videos isn´t very good, still I will try to translate it for you.

The sound of voices fade out as the images of the videos began to unfold. It had been assembled from several cellphones taken by the scientist from Chiba after they had been called by Shugahara to help him to deliver the Tears of Hild.

After the video ended, there was an absolute silence, this time the shock of the images lasted longer, slowly there was a crescent noise. Keyboards were taped, while the people with laptops began to search the info they had received. The murmur was growing, as they share the info. There were other videos, and comments in personal blogs. Slowly, even as fantastic as it was, their doubts began to fade.

A person in the middle of the room slowly stood up and raised his hand in a reverent way requesting to speak. Everyone turned to face him and remainded silent. Professor Nambu signaled a technician to give him a microphone, then the man asked:

- Throughout the video I heard several words that sounded familiar to me. "Valkyries, Hild, Hell, Yggdrasil, besides the names of the three Norns: Verthandy, Urd and Skuld ... All those are elements of Norse mythology ... Are you saying that the Norse gods really exist?

Professor Nambu thought for a moment and replied:

- I think it is not something as simple. I would say that these beings had contact with our ancestors and those legends were generated there. Maybe the mythologies of other peoples also began with such contacts.

- What were those crystals that you gave to that ... that Creature, the one called Hild - the man hesitated- " the great lady of the demons?

- I am not completely sure, but in recent months Dr Shugahara started something that looked like a marathon of archaeological excavations, he directed about thirty excavations around the world. It seemed he had accurate information about where to excavate, but we still ignore his source. As soon as we can contact him, I Hope he will answer. So far he has been willing to give us all the information we want. By the way, I'm not sure how he could convince as many people, but I would like to put him in charge of one of our laboratories, that man has real ability to lead. But for all we know, all those excavations were by intention to recover those crystals. Crystals that were apparently hidden and protected by our ancestors for thousands of years.

A reverent silence was his answer, the man took a few seconds to absorb the answer and continued asking, somehow he summed up everyone's ideas:

- What do you know about these crystals called Hild´s tears, How do you know they are the same that were given ... to Hild?

Professor Nambu sighted. He was not sure it was wise to disclose the answer, but it was to late for that-

- Because we have obtained one. It was found under a megalith in France, Professor Shubashini Sripathi from Bombay university was following Shugahara orders and directing the excavation. But he was called urgently to Japan by Dr. Shugahara and he could not remove it, yet he left very precise instructions to remove it from the excavation since it seems to be very dangerous. One of those who participated in the excavation suffered some kind of madness after he was exposed to it accidentally and began to recover only after he was shielded from it. So that the crystal was removed from the site and was subsequently handed over to our custody a few hours ago. Fortunately, they believed it emitted some kind of radiation and thought we could handle it. Since then, it has been emitting radiation of the most peculiar kind. Definitely it´s not something of natural origin.

- Will you release it for research?

The question was to be expected, but the response of Professor Nambu was not.

-No. We are assuming it´s alien technology, and also very dangerous, specially after we know who is the owner. We will not touch it at least until we know how to handle and develop proper protocols. We will contact Dr Shugahara first, and then we will decide how to deal with it. I trust him

-One last question. Several times you have referred to Dr. Shugahara. Who is this man?

- Dr. Shugahara Kenji, from Chiba University. I'd say in a way he is an extraordinary person. As I mentioned he is a specialist in ancient Norse traditions and ethnobotany, also it seem he has a lot of curiosity and intuition on other branches of science completely unrelated to his area. He handed to me the compound that caused the destruction of the laboratory at Chiba. He had wild ideas about it´s structure, and somehow convinced me to put them to test, and it was Ms Rosenthal´s research that prove he was right. I will not give details, but along the years, his research led him to discover some remarkable compounds in ancient potions and this is one of them. - The professor hesitated a moment, but then decided to continue. - It was during his search that he got in contact with these being he insists to call "gods"...

Contrary to what he expected, this time no one commented, it seems everyone need time to think about his words. His interlocutor sat down slowly, he was trying to digest the information, so the professor continued:

- From what we have learned, there are at least two universes beside ours One is called Hell or **Niflhel** and the other is called** "Heaven"** although it seems we should call it **Asgard**, if we take in consideration the Nordic mythology, since seems it has no connection with Christianity's paradise. The beings of those universes have been in conflict for eons. But something has happened, we still have no idea why, but they are about to sign a truce. At this time staff from the Chiba University are in a temple called Tarikihongan, where a ceremony is to be held and three men would be appointed judges in that conflict.- not a sound was heard after those words- One of them is Dr Shugahara, so we hope that we can would explain us more. We are expecting more videos and reports, maybe even a video streaming. I think we are about to discover the universe is more amazing than anything we have imagined before.

* * *

Belldandy was still recapitulating what had happened in the temple. Keiichi had become one of the great judges. That was beyond any scenario she had thought of and yet it seemed it had been inevitable. Keiichi now would be part of the legends, but virtually all the legends had a tragic end. Suddenly she was distracted from her thoughts by Lind.

- Kamisama. It´s time for you to assume your place. The gods are waiting.

Her your place? Her right place was the great heavenly council room, but it had been obliterated. She had to choose now a new place to officially assume the command of her world in order to restore its pride and hope. The mixture of chaos and fear that surrounded her, and that had invaded HER world hurt like a sore in her own flesh. Inside of her a feeling of anger was born, it told her to fight, crush the evil,and end violence using her power ..

Belldandy stayed frozen in disbelief ... That was not like her, that could not be her own thought. Again she perceived strange ideas on her mind ...so took a deep breath and review her meditation exercises. No, she must perceive first the needs of those who needed and depended on her.

She started singing and casted a small spell to connect her to the flow of vital energy form her world. It allowed to feel the sum of emotions around her, and she found fear, doubt, discouragement. It was sad to think that a world so perfect could crumble so easily. But she also found hope, bravery and wisdom that just needed guidance, her guidance!.

Now Belldandy knew what she needed to do and spoke with decision on her voice:

- There is only one place where I should assume my post, and that is the Hall of Great Council in Heaven ...

Lind was left speechless, for a moment her discipline failed him.

- But Belldandy, you still do not have your full power, you must wait to recover and absorb more power...

Belldandy looked at her and smiled.

- I know my power is still not enough, but there is someone here who currently has almost as much power as me. Before my is the most powerful and eldest of the Valkyries. Will you help me?

Lind attempted to protest ...

- Belldandy, I have never master reparative magic , I only serve to fight and destroy and ...

- Then let me guide you and we will do it together, we have fought together before, just need to trust your skills. -Belldandy looked around to the other Valkyrie and said: -Let's do it together, but I will not give you orders. I simple will say: "please"

Lind looked surprised at Belldandy . She was not the kind of leader that gave orders and expected everyone to comply blindly, she was a leader who lead, and let everyone to do the best. He shuddered, she sensed that Belldandy had begun to show her true power.

- We will, kami ...

- Lind - Belldandy interrupted with a commanding voice -I will give you just one last order ... - Lind looked at her in surprise - Lind, never call me again Kami-sama. You are my friend, just call me Belldandy ...

Lind closed her eyes and could not avoid being swept by a wave of emotion, after eons of serving the former Kami-sama, he had never asked for anything else besides to comply his orders. Now this Kami-sama was asking just to be friends. She realized she would give her life for this goddess, even if she would not ask for it.

- I will ... Ka ... eh ... Belldandy!

Belldandy looked around and then floated slowly until she reached the center of the giant crater where The council room had stood once. The atmosphere still retained the violence of what had happened,and the wind whipped her dress and fluttered wildly.

She spread her hands and began to inquire to the elements around her for their memories of the building. Air, soil, dust, rock, all released their memories at the request of the goddess and she began to call back the elements that had been part of the place. She called Holly Bell, her beloved angel, and the Valkyrie made a circle around her. Lind floated above her and called her twin angels, then opened her inner thoughts to be in contact with Belldandy.

The goddesses began to synchronize their movements like twin figures, and her power began to spread around in a way that was beautiful and terrible at once. The other warrior goddesses began to follow them and sang, so their power to destruct began to liberate, but under a new guide the chaos of destruction began to turn into order.

But the task was immense, even for such powerful goddesses. But they did not doubt, they had a guide. Belldandy continued her song and they followed.

Around them, the gods began to feel the power of Belldandy´s song into their hearts, the slow song of the goddess among gods invaded them and gradually they began to approach, and one by one, they began to link their singing to their goddess voice.

A powerful song began flooding a shattered world, the song of thousands of gods that once again felt they had a purpose. And the elements began to respond, a powerful wind flooded the place, but did not bring destruction, but instead brought one by one the fragments, debris and even the atoms of matter dispersed than had been there before.

But the song brought much more, Belldandy´s singing began to be filled with new themes and harmonies, which were gradually adopted and enriched by the other gods and those melodies brought with them new forms. Gradually the great building began to take shape, but not it was the same. The building had been designed by the former Kamisama as a perfect place. It had been like a beautiful music box, perfect orderly, but also ... Predictable. Now the form was freer, more daring, less perfect and therefore with more life.

The new council room was born, but this time it was not the work of Kamisama, but form the voices of all the gods, who did not stop singing. Then they split into groups and began touring their injured realm.. They could not recover the lost lives, but they could rebuild in their name and memory. Slowly their songs started to run around this world. More and more gods left their shelters and joined the singing and a celebration started.

And then they realized that they had always had the power to fight against the destruction, and slowly a thought began to be in everyone's mind: Belldandy, a goddess among gods was with them.

* * *

Urd looked around and a feeling of nostalgia swept over her. Could not keep moist out of her eyes This was in her old room as a child. There were her magical toys, the burnings on the walls, even the stupid guards were there ... They did not look as big as she remembered, but still they measure almost eight feet and were impressive with their hypertrophied muscles.

Intrigued, she approached one of them, and saw something. The look of one guard was not as stupid as she remembered. Almost imperceptible but still visible, there was the shadow of a smile on his face. Urd raised her eyebrows in surprise, she dug on her memory and finally remembered:

- You are Bragg. You were my guardian!

Yes, there was definitely a smile there. And then Urd recalled her mother's orders for the guards. Orders supported by her magic power He thought about it, then casted a spell over the guard, she now had the power and authority to remove it, then spoke - You have my permission to speak, the great Daimakaicho has given me authority over you.

Now the guard really smiled and made a clumsy bow, then lifted a sleeve of his uniform to show a burn on his rugged skin, and spoke in a rough and guttural voice.

- I Bragg, little princess. You grew. You strong and beautiful.

Urd realized that she had softened. Belldandy would be proud of her, but in Hell it was not a good idea to let her emotion out, yet she could not stop them:

- I'm sorry, forgive me for hurting you.

- Princess did not hurt me. I am proud, it was for you. I asked to be your guard again.

Urd could stop a tear for running away. This rough being remembered her! Then heard footsteps behind her. She did not need to saw who was there, she could feel her aura. Quickly she cleaned the running tear and talked.

- I wish I had known before about your real mission, I always wondered what happened to you to become my enemy. Now I found all of you only tried only to protect me.

She turned slowly, the figure that was behind her was Marller, But not she was no longer Marller her dumb rival on earth. Marller was from one of the higher houses, that's how her family had obtained for her the privilege for being the play partner of the daughter of the great Daimakaicho. But her acting had been so perfect she had forgotten that fact, now the change on her was more profound than a simple change on her attire. It was something deeper. Probably her mother had use some subtle magic to change her.

The two women stood still, each one trying to reconcile the figure they had in front with the girl they had known. So much have changed, then forgetting all pride they embraced.

- Urd my old friend, how often have wished to say the truth, but we didn't know if someone could be monitoring you, even in heaven so the simulation should have to be perfect. I lost the count of the times I had to interfere to save your life.

The women parted their embrace, Urd looked incredulous, her life had been at risk and she never noticed. Marller realize it, so she pointed the Guard with the mark on his arm and said:

-That wound was not your work, although you really tried hard. Bragg was wounded defending your, he was badly wounded and another guard died.. Remember he just disappeared?

- Yeah, I thought it was because my mother had discovered I was talking to him. I enjoyed to tease him for being so stupid.

- He may be stupid for small talk, but he is an elite fighter, yet he was wounded in an attack against you, but your mother tried hard to pretend everything was normal, so she hid everything from you. He was removed so you never knew about his injury and never do any questioning.

Urd closed her eyes. So she had been a protected princess in Heaven and Hell. That changed all her world, since she always had felt she was being been rejected.

- Seems you have so much to tell me. I must say I am happy all this had ended and I need to know this new Marller. But it will have to wait. I need all the information on this madness that you can give me. I have never seen anything like this. What are they doing with those infected?

Marller stayed silent for a moment and could not conceal a painful expression, then said ...

- The first cases were executed ... - Urd was left speechless - The guards acted to protect the vital buildings, they captured and asked for orders, but Hild was unconscious, and members of the council were trying to get more power, so no one noticed them. So the guards resorted to long forgotten orders that demanded execution. They just reported to the system the names to be executed in order to avoid the doublet system. Since Yggdrasil is down and did not rejected the requests, they simply proceeded. If Hild had not returned and changed the orders it would have been a massacre. After that, many were taken prisoner to the restrain magic chambers, but soon there was no more room. Now after Belldandy's suggestion, we are sealing them, unfortunately the madness continues to spread, and several guards have fallen and caused destruction before they could be sealed.

Urd had closed her eyes, she could hardly keep her eyes free with tears. Even in Hell, the life of eternal beings was too valuable. Those who had been executed, did not deserve it, there had been useless and senseless deaths, and finally they were her people. Despite she had been always isolated in the palace, maybe she knew some of them.

Finally Urd shouted - We can not allow more deaths. We have to look for the cause and find a cure.

Marller looked at her. Now as the new "**Druhting**" it was also her responsibility. She took Urd´s hands and nodded ans said: - There will be none. We are doing everything possible but we can not hold much longer, if this disease spread to much there will by no one to resist. Do you think to find the cure? I have seen the power of your potions. Urd, I have faith in you so does your mother, even if she does not show it. We are preparing your workplace, and have recruited those few that know about potions. We will get you any ingredient you want. We already have the list you requested. Also, **Walharen** is analyzing those infected, if anyone can figure out something he is the one. Unlike our healers, it seems he has an idea on what is going on.

Urd closed her eyes, trying to grasp the situation. Then remembered something she had told to Belldandy: "The doctor found how to solve the problem on my potions! Maybe that is the reason we were meant to meet each other! My potions may be needed in the future." Urd shuddered at the though. Had she and everyone else really been manipulated by the Predictive Defense Programs for this moment? She and her love for Kenji were just part of a bigger plan.? She had tried to search for any running copy of the adx-654 software in Yggdrasil and found none, yet Keiichi told her the mysterious software on his machine claimed to be a copy adx-654, but that was impossible, there is no way it could run in such small machine. Well, she would have to left that in Kenji´s hands. Mortals have proved to be more capable than she had ever dreamed. Then remembered Marllers presence, and her comment about that young Demon, the new SysOp.

- Walharen seems to be a very capable young demon. You just named him the new Nidhogg´s SYSOP? You have rewarded him well, he would be useful. I need his help. I would need Nidhogg´s analysis of the problem, and I haven´t time to learn. How is the situation outside?

- All over Hell you hear fear and rumors of an invasion. The news that a Magna truce has been declared does not seem to have alleviated the fear. We know many are accusing Hild for treason,

Urd's face tightened with anger. - Fools, my mother can be many things, but treason is the latest thing she would do. She would give her life for our realm.

- Still, the council members are trying to reunite, they are furious they had not consulted, but they had been hiding since the problem started. They are such cowards. Your presence will of help. Now Hild has a legitimate heir, even ... - Marller doubted before continuing - even if she is no longer a demon or even half goddess ..- then Marller gave a maquiavelich smile- But it does no matter, your new power will be a much better argument. Nobody would dare to act against you and your mother. That is why I need you in the council meeting right now.

- But... We can not waste time on that. - Urd claimed furious at such trivialities!

- We will have to go, or our efforts would be useless. While Hild has replaced many of her political enemies with Anang-Reh´s followers, we need to secure the whole council loyalty, if not by persuasion, then by force. But we can not afford to be divided.

- Anang-Reh? - Urd was perplexed- I know that name, Shaikh Anang-Reng was the one who attacked and almost killed us. This Anang-Reh is ?...

Anang-Reh was his son, but his views had nothing to do with his father, and his loyalty was ... - Marler showed a painful expression that Urd found striking.

- Do you know him?. Why do you speak about him in past tense?

- He Died, He was Giörel doublet ... - Urd gasped at the memories of the unfortunate goddess and then understood.

- She goddess who was murdered on earth ... He was executed and you... you loved him?

Marller tried to continue... - Yes, I was ... I wanted ... I..

Urd Marler´s felt pain and knew it had to come from a very deep emotion. In Hell sorrow was seldom showed, since those kinds of feelings were hidden. They were considered a weakness. Then almost unwittingly embraced her old friend. She was surprised at the unexpected touch, but somehow it was comforting and for the first time, she let out her pain.

* * *

Belldandy was at the center of the New Great Council Hall. Apparently she was alone with Lind and part of her squad, but she knew it was an illusion. Thousands of eyes were watching their actions and as Kamisama she could feel and their presence and their emotions. She wondered how would be when Yggdrasil would be back on line and she would be almost omniscient about everything that would occur in Heaven. Meanwhile she had to receive reports from Valkyries sent to inspect. So far, Yggdrasil nodes were under attack by the infected, but now those nodes had being reinforced and guarded by the newly recruited Valkyries and repairs were being undertaken. A grateful Peorth had reported to her and now she had begun an aggressive plan to restore the system. Besides the Valkyries had captured hundreds of infected that soon would be sent to her to be cured.

But the attacks did not cease and she felt confusion on the gods feelings. After her display of power they had expected and aggressive counterattack, it was as if they had not realized the infected were not their enemies. Belldandy perceived the Magna Truce instead of security was greeted with fear. She could hear wild rumors on her head, yet she could do little to stop them, since they were not rational. Belldandy sighted when Lind gave her a signal, It was time for her first official declaration. She floated slowly into the great Hall and waited until she felt all were paying attention.

- Listen all, listen to my story, the story of our sadness. There has been treachery among us. A great god, Hannus, member of the high council member, second in line of succession, took and unfortunate decision on his hearth. He dreamed on our glorious past and attempt to resume the war against Hell, regardless of treaties or the implications of the doublet system. He knew there would be an attack from a rogue group from Hell and instead of warning us, he allowed to proceed. He allowed an attack on my sisters and me. He allowed an attack on the Norns.

Belldandy continue her story. She was a great story teller and had captivated everyone attention, yet she had doubts, Keiichi had told her what he had seen at the council room and about the treason, but Lind had been unable ti retrieve that recording, Belldandy had no evidence except Keiichi´s word. That was had not worried her, since a first class goddess, she could not lie, but Lind had reminded her that as Kamisama ... she now had "that ability".

- ... Hannus treason was discovered, Kami-sama offered his the opportunity to put his case to vote, but instead he confronted Kamisama and the council and resorted to the most feared and now despised act. The battle suicide. With this act he brought us pain and destruction, chaos and sorrow. All the members of the council died and Kamisama is moribund. - Belldandy pause feeling the effects on her words. She new** Hannus** was popular and many gods expected he should have replaced Kamisama. The news of his treason had not been well received, yet her tale had been accepted and she could hear gods moaning over the god's treason. - And That is why it was raised to this dignity. I and been prepared all my life for this duty and I will comply to secure Heaven. and that is why, In order to ensure our safety, I have established a Magna truce with Hell. Our old enemy is suffering the same curse we are suffering now, the curse of madness, and therefore they are now our allies against a common enemy...

But Belldandy could not continue. The roar of hundred thousand thoughts raged into her mind. The impact from a deluge of negative emotion: Disbelief, fear, incredulity, denial, hate , ire, and so on was too much for her. Belldandy attempted to close her mind. This was completely unexpected, no one ever had doubted her word, and now ... It was too painful and she was unprepared..

- Wait, Hild is not our enemy, she saved my life ..

This time the reaction was even more violent. It was as if the hatred and fear her people hold against Hild, was now directed to her. For some gods, she was no longer Belldandy, goddess among gods, but "Belldandy, the contaminated goddess"!

Belldandy had fought all her life to be free of negative emotions, she new about hate, but had not felt hate and now, she could feel so much hate being poured into her hearth, that seemed impossible it could exist on the perfection of her realm. She stopped floating and felt down to the floor moaning in pain.

Lind reacted immediately and used her physical barrier to protect her. She could not tolerate to see her dearest friend in pain. Se also was astounded at the reaction. How such hatred had born into the world of the gods?, She began to suspect that madness was not the only infection that existed on this realm.

Belldandy looked at her still in pain, nothing had prepared her for something like this. She close her eyes were closed and crumbled on the floor as her eyes filled with tears But she could not go back, then a thought alien to her nature appeared, but the pain did not let her think. So Belldandy did something she had never done before on her long life. The goddess close her heart. The pain stopped, and slowly opened her eyes. He stood and signaled Lind she could lift the barrier.

Belldandy now faced toward the sky and she wore a strange expression on her, it was an expression of defiance. She now had closed herself to others feelings and felt liberated. She had come to save her people and she would do so regardless of costs... or suffering she could cause in the process. It was time for them to know her power.

* * *

Two young people walked down a grove and suddenly came to a ridge where the ground fell sharply. The landscape offered to their eyes was beautiful and far away, over the mountains, the sun began to brush the tops staining them in red. Both were dressed similarly, worn jeans and a colorful shirt. But that did not hide the perfect silhouette of the girl. She looked at the landscape with satisfaction and sat under a beautiful tree, the man hesitated nervously, then sat beside her and she commented.

- I could never imagined my uniform would unsettle you. This clothes are strange, but I have seen stranger ones. Besides, It is more convenient than what has been used in the past.

The man looked nervous, she had copied his clothes, adjusting them to her body, but she had dissolved her uniform before his eyes, leaving her divine body exposed for a few seconds. He could not banish the image from his mind ... He started talking in an effort to calm down.

- Ghadril, Did I bother you when I asked to change your clothes?

She had a dignified bearing that not even some old jeans managed to soften yet she had a hint of a smile and replied:

- It does not bother me, I understand that every human culture is different and clothes can mean different things . I understand my uniform somehow that may be inappropriate on your current culture. But it its difficult to follow those changes. Human civilizations pass so quickly ...

The man swallowed hard, she spoke of civilizations as referring to the fashion of the previous year ..

- I .. I meant the personal reason, that is ... what affects me is your ...

- Is my body? Are you talking about sexuality? Yes i can understand that.. I sense great tension inside you. - she lifted her right arm and extended her palm almost touching his chest - I think you should release it, if I can help you, simply ask.

The man´s hearth accelerated rapidly and became even more nervous.

- I ... I'd rather prefer to talk about something else. What would happen now? All your companions have departed to heaven, but as I understand you offered to stay here ... Why..?

- Why did I stayed here? - Again the goddess complete his sentence - There are several reasons, the main one is that Lind needed a volunteer and I met the requirements. The new judges did not know how to use the weapons of the first born, and not only I am one of the oldest of the Valkyrie, but also I am the only one who has seen them in action besides Lind.

The man doubted and repeated ..

- The oldest Valkyrie! Can I ask, how old are you?

The woman close her eyes thinking, as if the concept of age were alien to her. After a few seconds she commented:

- I'm not sure how to carry out the computation in terms of your universe, but I remember the catastrophic war that ended up with the great reptiles of this world, when your ancestors were still small insectivorous animals. That is the oldest reference I have from your world, but even at that time I was already a veteran at the squad.

The man felt a chill, 55 million years ago she was already a veteran!. He remained silent pondering the information, then remembered something that intrigued him.

- Who are the first born you have talked before? What are those weapons? Your people seems to regard them as if they were sacred.

Ghadril stayed silent and then replied with some awe in his voice.

- Now that you mentioned, I think the first born should have not been very different from you: mortals that are just entering the era of technology. They were short lived like you and had no powers of their own, but had acquired great knowledge of the universe. It was the time when other multiverses were contacted and began the first conflicts. When some of the first born began to become the first gods, some of they went into some kind of madness, so they developed weapons to fight them using their technology. Even now, our magic has few defenses against such non magic weapons. Then they delayed turning into gods until they became wiser. We owe them our existence. Therefore we fear and respect those weapons along their builders. We no longer used them, but those few who carry them, used them as symbols of the power of our ancestors.

- So they are technology and can be used against magic? Amazing. But what would happen to Dr. Shugahara, to the young Keiichi and that child, Sentaro-kun. Will they have magical powers or something?

- No, they are still only mortal, but now they will have connections with Yggdrasil and Nidhogg. They are necessary because they need to know if the treaty is being held. Their real power lyes not in their arms, but in their connections with the systems of Heaven and Hell. That is why they received those passwords and access codes. That is the old tradition, but it had been so long ago the last time this have been done. It's hard to explain it without some understanding of our realm ...

- Amazing, is like being in a dream, I never thought we could verify the existence of the multiverses, much less to contact with being in them ... and then ..

Wait - the goddess silenced him- I think this is the reason you asked me to come with you.

The sun began to sink between the mountains and the sky began to be tinged with fire. The red disk of the sun seemed to be painted like a perfect red circle in the sky. The sky was limpid and the tones were so pure, as if the belonged to an artist palette instead. The disk descended behind the mountains and suddenly, just before the border of the circle disappeared, a beautiful and rare green flash crossed the sky. I was such a rare phenomena yet the presence of the warrior goddess seemed as if it had been a welcome greeting from the sky. Both stayed in silence, after watching the daily but no less beautiful miracle that is the sunset in the mountains.

Silently, the man sensed the presence of his companion and remembered that after the impressive ceremony in the temple, his heart had leaped with joy at knowing that Ghadril would stay on earth. Several hours later he had returned to the temple to see her, yet he: Takashi Yoshida, a researcher in high energy physics, asistan profesor and first-rate scientist, had not been able to say more to her than a sentence from a melodramatic drama he had recently been: - " Would you like to come with me to see the sunset?".

To his surprise the dignified goddess had accepted. Besides the goddess had noticed his nervousness and asked the reason. He had only able to point at her fit uniform that reveal the forms of almost every detail of her body, and somehow the goddess had understood.

He returned to the presented and felt the magical moment. He was sitting there with a beautiful and proud goddess, sharing a wonderful moment. Slowly his nervousness began to fade away to be replaced with a sense of joy.

Finally only some red tint was the remainder for the gone sunlight. The red tones began to leave the sky to be replaced by the night sky. The sky suddenly was filled with stars. After a some minutes of silence the goddess spoke:

- Mortal, your world is beautiful. Thanks for sharing this with me. It is so different from my world where everything is planned and directed. Now I know I took the right decision.

The man finally was relaxed by the beauty of the sunset and without turning to see her he dared to ask, somewhat hopefully:

- You mentioned that one of the reason to stay, was to teach the use of the weapons, but ... is there any other ... reason?

Ghadril was silent for a moment and then asked:

- Tell me mortal, are you glad that I am here?

The man did not expect such a direct question and his heart skipped a beat but finally said.

- Since I first saw you I felt I had a special connection, even if I cannot understand how could it be possible. You were only a vision, how could that feeling be real? And then... then - he tried to stop stuttering before continued. - When I touched your hand and felt something very special that I can not define. In my country we have a legend. When to people are born, we say there is an invisible ribbon that it´s attached to other people hearth, so they are attached from the moment they are born, and no matter what happens, sooner or later they met and share they're hearths. Somehow that legend resonates in my mind.

Ghadril sighted and said.

- It´s true, we have a special bond, it even could be that story you told me. But I realized it was something special so I decided to care for it. The life of mortals is so short that I could not leave this opportunity pass

- Short life?

The goddess looked at him and then took a handful of soil. He saw her hand emitted a very soft glow, yet it allowed to see something amazing. The goddess began to sing, her voice had the purity of tone of a perfect sky and then from the soil in the goddess hand a stem sprouted and a few seconds later turned into a beautiful flower. T hen the goddess took the handful of soil and reverently planted it into the ground. She sang a simple protection spell for the plant and continued.

- Have you ever seen a beautiful flower just blossom like this? You know that will last just a few days, so you decide to stay and look after it night and day until the flower fades away. For my, your life is so short and so it become equally precious to me. I'm not like the administrative goddesses than can come to your world on any pretext. If I leave your world it may take centuries of your time before I can go back and you would not longer exist. For that reason I decided to stay to see the passing of your whole life.

The man swallowed hard, this beautiful and immortal creature saw him as a fragile and delicate flower, his life was for her nothing but a fraction of the almost eternal life of a goddess, and therefore she had decided to spend a few moments to be with him. The idea was so strange and disturbing, yet there was something beautiful about it. Finally, he only managed to say:

- Thanks for this, I hope ... I hope that my life is to your liking and that it would leave good memories on you, I could not dream of something bigger than being in the memory of a goddess. - He bowed reverently before her as a sign of respect and then added - now I think we should go back to the temple but ... - he laughed nervously - but again I can not see in the dark, Can I...?

- Mortal, you do not no longer need to ask

But despite her words, Ghadril hesitate to reach out and touch the hand of mortal. Finally she touched him and both shuddered at the contact. Both consciously accepted now that there was a bond between them. She stood up and walked slowly, he let her take the lead. Suddenly the man stumbled and almost fell over her. His body tensed at the unexpected contact with the goddess body.

She took him firmly by the arm to prevent him from falling, she sensed his tense muscles. Ghadril breathed deeply inhaling the atmosphere of the forest. Now she knew about the intoxication of life and began to enjoy it. After a long life where thousands of years could pass indistinguishable one from another, life began to have meaning But she felt alive again. She looked at the mortal man, smiling since she knew he could not see her, and commented:

- I sense a lot of tension within you, and that's not good. Let me help you to release it ...

The man froze in surprise and without knowing exactly why, his heart began to beat rapidly.

**End of Chapter XXIII**

* * *

notes:

**"ice cream cooled with liquid nitrogen ."**: this is a special dessert offered to VIP´s at CERN.

**"Green flash":** This is rare phenomena , but it´s real, usually it´s seen at sea, but sometimes it has been seen at the mountains. Just before the sunset goes down, a green flash is seen. The phenomena is due to the refraction of colors in the atmosphere.


	24. Chapter 24: Betrayal

_Like all authors of Fanfics, I live for your comments._

_Please comment, criticize, or at least say hello …_

_My best wishes for Zoro50 who help me to transform my English to proper English..._

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

By Javier Delgado Rosas

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XXIV

**Betrayal**

Hild´s throne room offered the same aspect it had held over the millennia. It was no longer littered with the unconscious bodies of the demons who had lent their power to Hild. Their powers had been restored by Marller using Hild´s crystal and had now been appointed as new members of the council replacing missing members. Hild was on her throne as she had been there during those millennia, but something about her had changed. This time she was not surrounded by those screens flowing with information she used to keep a vigilant eye on her own people. Her ingratiating smile was gone, instead she bore a deep look of concern. The world she had built so painstakingly over aeons, was facing an unknown threat, however for the first time in her long life, she knew she was not alone: she had found new allies among the demon-kind, she had the faithful Marller at her side, but more important to her, after millennia, Urd was now back with her.

Never mind that Urd had become something that was not a demon or god, or that she had sworn her stay in Hell would only be temporary. Finally her daughter was with her and with that she did not care if the universe was against her. Perhaps the future she had long planned so long ago was still possible. If she could play her cards properly, there was still a possibility she could make it true.

Suddenly she was distracted from her meditation by a powerful presence, Urd was coming! Hild was not yet sure of the scope of Urd´s new powers, but they could be felt at distance. She would need learn to control them or it would be a nuisance. She straightened on her throne and assumed her usual pose; again she turned back into the beautiful, frightening and enigmatic Daimakaicho.

A few seconds later, Urd arrived accompanied by Marller. Her outfit had changed, her long silky white hair now fall in cascades contrasting with a tight dress with a red shade eerily similar to human blood. It was similar to the one Hild wore, since it held the color and symbols that marked her ancestry. She was a royal princess after all, and as with Hild´s dress it was full of knots and magical seals that not only helped her to contain and control her power but also announced how powerful she was. But Urd had added some extra elements to her new outfit, they were symbols and colors that were not part of original design. Her dress had elements foreign to the world of Hell, they announced she was a first class goddess, a Norn, and even more, a Valkyrie. Urd could not have chosen symbols that brought more hate than those. Hild could not help bearing a faint smile, she had to admit that she would have done the same: to challenge any authority that dared to contradict her. Urd was worthy of being her daughter, if she managed to survive. This time, Urd had accepted her mixed heritage and would not try to hide it. Urd-sama: Goddess and Demon.

Urd also felt Hild's powerful presence, but her feelings about her were not clear. As a child she had admired her, feared her and later hated her. Hild was now smiling at her, but Urd knew that her seductive and friendly smile, was usually just a mask. Hild was a master of manipulation and she knew well that the contrast between her sometimes kind and flattering words, and her unbound anger was one of the reasons she had managed to survive with her incomplete powers. As she approached her, Hild was the first to speak.

- Urd Chan – she said with a condescending voice - I hope you had found everything as you remember, I took special care to seal your room with a preserver spell in anticipation of your return ... Even if I never expected it would take so long - Hild made a slight pause before uttering the last sentence in a tone strangely different. That slight hesitation allowed Urd to guess something. Her mother had missed her.

Yet she had her doubts. She could have imagined it, then looked her mother as she made a subtle blink, stared briefly at the door that connected to the council room and nodded with an almost imperceptible movement ... That was her answer, more intrigues!. It was very possible that they were being spied on. Hild would never express her real feelings if they could be used against her. Urd nodded her head slightly then looked at Marller. With a subtle gesture confirmed her thoughts.

Urd sighed, she would have to be very careful, She could be very powerful, but she was not invulnerable to intrigue.

Hild put on her face her most charming smile and walked to the council room door. Urd went along with her. Marller without thinking took her former place behind Hild, but she showed a flash of anger in her eyes, then put her hand on Marller´s shoulder and whispered very quietly:

- No one would trust my new **Druhting** if she acts as a servant. You should always be by at my side as my right arm; they will have to respect and fear you as if you were me.

Marller humbly bowed her head, then closed her eyes and concentrated. It was hard to abandon centuries of simulation. She muttered a small spell and immediately her attitude and demeanor changed, her eyes were now filled with fire, her face hardened and proud. Hild smiled with satisfaction. Then Hild stood in front of the door, called Marller on her right, Urd at her left. With an imperceptible gesture, threw a nonverbal spell directed to their aura, it combined them as if were one, so nobody would guess who was more powerful. Marller as Druhting was now above a first-class demon, Hild was the most powerful of this world, and goddess-demon Urd added even more power to the mix. The mixture of the three auras projected a thrilling sense of power, despite this the appearance of the three women had not changed; their presence was now imposing and majestic. Hild raised her hand and the huge door opened.

Before her was the sumptuous hall of great council of Hell. A huge underground hall, which announced with its ornate splendor that this was the center of power in this world, or at least, pretended to be. As the doors opened slowly and majestically, They began to hear the sound of hundreds voices arguing angrily. Before their eyes appeared a multicolored crowd composed of the highest ranking demons of this world along with their servants and followers.

Urd could feel how their combined aura spread around the room, lightly touching every demon that was immediately left frozen in surprise.

One by one the demons turned around to see the three women and the murmur of voices became a silence where the sense of fear almost could be touched. Hild had returned, now with her daughter at her side and with a powerful new Druhting! Few recognized in that haughty woman the scorned old Marller. Gradually the fear began to fill the hearts of those present, but in some of them, fear tinged with another feeling: "hate." A small group of very senior demons were in the middle of the room. There was fear in their eyes, but also there was defiance.

The three women moved majestically to their seat at the board. Urd could not help but notice that after her back whispers were heard. The words goddess, Norn and Valkyrie were whispered with hate. Urd smiled with satisfaction.

Hild came to her throne in the council, showed a perfectly calculated expression of disapproval and disgust. With a lazy gesture she materialized two sumptuous thrones next to hers. A cold air seemed to blow on the assembly. Hild was making official the designations of the two women, without consulting them.

Finally she sat down and smiled with satisfaction, she looked around slowly and was delighted no one dared to meet her gaze, then spoke in her most condescending tone: -Because most of you were hiding like rats when the crisis started, I made some decisions that you already know and therefore I will not discuss them with you. Now we must face this threat together, so I will listen to your proposals.- She waited until her words sank on everyone heart then continued - Now we will start a free assembly - at these words, Hell unleashed.

Hundreds of demons screamed and tried to talk at once, the most powerful tried to dominate over the lower ranks to get their words heard. During one of the rare "free assemblies" there was a tacit agreement that what was said before the Daimakaicho would not bring retaliation from her. It was an opportunity that no one could waste. But only the strongest voices were heard. As things were done in Hell, this represented a considerable saving of time.

Urd looked and listened with deep disgust at the confusion, she should be working on a cure. She listened to accusations questioning her place at the council calling her a traitor and a goddess, but that was expected. What she found infuriating was the criticism toward her mother, after all, she knew better, soon a dangerous glow began to flow through her fingers while she turned to face her mother. Then she realized Hild was not observing the confusion, but instead was watching her with amusement. It was as if she enjoyed her anger, the she leaned toward her and whispered softly so only she could hear: - I have promised not to intervene during these discussions, but you have not, you are part of the council and you can intervene. You enjoyed these meetings when you were a little brat and wished to grow enough to participate. . Now you are old enough, just remember that this is not Heaven where you have to pretend to be kind to others.

Urd looked dumbfounded at her mother, somehow her words lifted a weight from her, and could not help but smirk at recalling old memories. No one payed attention when she rose from her throne, or at her slow and deliberate progress towards the group that argued with more force, nor to the dangerous gleam between her fingers. They would soon realize their terrible mistake.

* * *

Lind observed with utmost concern the transformation that had taken place in Belldandy´s face. Along with defiance she had a hardened expression. It was difficult to imagine she was the gentlest of all goddesses. Belldandy rose slowly toward the center of the building and stretched her arms. She began a magical intonation of great power, slowly the great throne room was transformed when the lines of the stone filigree began to glow with fiery lights. They were revealed to be power lines. Without Yggdrasil she had been relying on Keiichi bracelets to prevent the loss of her power, so she had not really needed much more, especially since the building had been rebuilt with all the gods power, but now she felt she needed more and now the building began to provide her with at a level unimaginable. Kamisama had ordered a large amount of energy to be stored as an emergency measure and was only available to him. Now Belldandy´s song ordered the building to release that energy for her. Gradually thin power lines began to acquire an incandescent tone as the energy flow grew and grew.

Lind looked with suspicion at this action, that was information that only the old Kamisama and she knew. She had been saving that energy for an emergency when Belldandy would be ready to receive it, and did not understand how it was that Belldandy had managed to free it for her. She did not dare to interrupt her, that would have been extremely dangerous.

Belldandy now floated in the midst of a furious dance of lines of light that converged toward her and wrapped her, while each line connected her to a hidden reservoir of energy and gave up its precious treasure of magic and power.

Belldandy's face contorted into a sort of grimace of pleasure when she was invaded by such power. And without realizing it, other things besides power and magic got into her... She closed her eyes and felt pleasure when her doubts were overwritten by new codes. Belldandy's body was now wrapped in a cocoon of light.

And suddenly with a jerk command, Belldandy disrupted the flow and it bursted burst uncontrolled at the suddenness of the order. Belldandy's body trembled with a sensation of pain, which somehow caused a smile of pleasure. She had enough energy, and did not want to lose more time. It was time to teach everyone to respect her.

Suddenly without saying a word Belldandy floated towards the great central node of Yggdrasil that was under attack. Lind did not follow her, she was still wondering about the changes she had perceived in Belldandy and felt that something was very wrong. Something must have happened. One of the Valkyries approached her with a questioning look. They were waiting for orders to follow Belldandy. Lind hesitated, all her life had accepted orders without questioning, but now she felt restlessness and did not know why. She pressed her fists furiously to her sides, finally signaling her squad to follow Belldandy and ordering Othala to take command. The warriors rose rapidly towards Belldandy and took their place around her in battle formation.

Lind however, did not follow them, she needed to get information about the situation. Yggdrasil was slowly being restored and some of its functions were now operating. Using her high level access she requested the logs of the last activity at the building, her face frowned as the info was displayed. Several holographic displays showed the frantic activity she had witnessed, but not all. Some of the activity had not been logged. She felt a chill, there should not be any info hidden from her. She then blew a communication spell on her hand. It was a tiny crystal that could hold an encrypted message and search for the destined person to deliver it. She put it into input command mode.

- Receiver : Commander Othala, Priority top one, encryption level III. Status: Confidential. Deliver immediately. Othala: Under no circumstance utilize energy from Yggdrasil. Resort only to the bracelets. You will need to minimize your energy use until we get replacements or make sure Yggdrasil's energy is safe. Distribute all bracelets you can among the new recruits and withhold from activity those without them; also put tracers on them to monitor their activity. This order should only be known by the elite. Everyone else should comply without any further explanation. Contact Peorth to create an emergency portal to earth, send Chrono for replacement. –Lind Hesitated, she was unsure about her next order, then she continued - DO not inform Belldandy!. Repeat: DO not inform Belldandy!. I am invoking a security exception level III, Verification command word: Jörmungandr. Confirm reception. End command sequence.

Finally Lind gently blew on it and it disappeared, A few minutes later it reappeared with a confirmation message. Lind sighted in relief. She looked at her bracelet, once again offering thanks to the mortals.

Outside, Belldandy was flying over the magnificent city. If possible, it was even more beautiful than before the cataclysm thanks to the participation of all gods. But there was something new that did not exist before. Breaking with the perfect order in many parts of the city were small trees full of flowers. Belldandy looked down and ignored them, but the once the Valkyrie approached one of them, they understood their meaning. They had ribbons with inscriptions hanging from their branches. They had been planted in honor of the fallen during the great catastrophe brought by Hannus suicide. The Valkyries offered signs of respect to those they found on their path, but Belldandy remained undaunted. It was as if they had no meaning for her. She had closed herself to any external feelings.

Finally they reached a wide area designed to bring out a low yet beautifully designed building. This was not the delicate, slender filigree of most of Heavens buildings, but a compact pyramid, resembling an ancient ziggurat. Here was housed the central node of the most powerful computer of the multiverses, not even Nidhogg, it´s counterpart on hell was as powerful. There was a link between both systems but Yggdrasil was the party responsible for maintaining the stability of the multiverses.

That is why the place did not have as many defenses. No demon would dare to attack this node since his own world depended on their operation.

But now that place was being attacked by the gods themselves. About Five hundred gods, of every rank, age and sex with an empty look, were attacking the place, using all their power to destroy it. The building already showed signs of great havoc, but now a hundred Valkyries were protecting it to prevent further damage. Many of them were very young, they were just recruits who had not completed their training.

But this was no time for doubts, all were fighting to the best of their capabilities. Young or not, they were warrior goddesses to which no common god or demon should be able to overcome. Unfortunately those goddesses had a warrant that decreased their efficiency. They Should NOT harm the attackers.

Belldandy slowly descended to the ground, and slowly walked along a path that led to the entrance of the building. The squad followed her and found before them a senior god, with eyes full of rage and madness, who was preparing a terrible magic against a young Valkyrie who still did not have her degrees. He was chanting a long and complex spell that normally would not be used in combat, but since the Valkyries could not retaliate against the attackers, they had time to use complex magic.

The great god launched his attack on the young recruit. Soon she was screaming in pain, as the powerful and ancient magic of a great god tore her defense. Belldandy watched the attack imperturbable as if it were not her concern. The Valkyries around her watched in horror as the magic began to burn the young recruits skin blackening her body, but they could not intervene without a direct order from Belldandy.

Suddenly one of them broke formation and knelt before Belldandy and said.

- Please my lady, give the order to intervene. If we do not, she will die!

Belldandy flickered, as if waking from a dream, noted with curiosity the scene, and made a gesture of disgust, she lifted her hand and in a towering voice just said - "Enough!" ...

This time her power was immeasurably greater than a first class goddess. The elements suddenly exploded with anger and a powerful hurricane formed around the older god, the wind howled furiously as the sound of a thousand angry beasts. The condensed air in it made it looked like a solid wall and violently impacted the god engulfing him and disrupting his magic, they could hear his screams of terror and pain as Belldandy´s powerful magic merciless tore his body in a hundred different directions and finally crashed him into the ground.

The young Valkyrie who had been under attack cried with a mixture of terror and relief from the awful sight of that powerful magic and then crashed into the ground senseless unable to bear more pain. Her body suffered extensive burns that allowed the divine energy to slowly dissipate.

Without changing her haughty expression, Belldandy added, pointing to the fallen god - Seal him - and then continued walking the path to the building ignoring the raging battle around her. The Valkyries looked confused at each other. Othala the healer, gave them an order and they flew to protect Belldandy with their barriers, as she was heading to the young recruit. Maybe she could save her life.

Meanwhile Lind still remained in the great council hall. She was staring a screen in disbelief at Belldandy´s merciless behavior. The goddess appeared as if possessed by an alien spirit, but the terrible action of the goddess, had been seen by everyone in this realm and Lind could feel a wave of feelings that overwhelmed the previous one of hate. Now a new thought was spreading around the gods. Belldandy was now powerful, she was now "Belldandy the conqueror". This world approved the actions of the goddess. As the new feeling spread around, Lind began feeling an emotion that always been alien to her: Terror.

* * *

Dr. Shugahara Kenji laughed merrily- I would like to see that!

In front of him was Urd, but the transparency of the image and its fuzzy edges betrayed that it was not real. It was a projection that floated in Keiichi's room.

The Urd image frowned in surprise and then with a fun attitude said mockingly - Am I actually talking to Dr. Shugahara Kenji?, the respected professor at Chiba University?. I wasn't expecting you would approve my actions

Kenji stopped laughing, still there was the shining of a smile in his eyes : - I'm sorry, maybe is the tension of recent days, but after hearing you I imagined a powerful and elegant demon being electrocuted by the angry bolt of a beautiful girl, is simply hilarious, that is something I wish I had witnessed. - Then added in more serious tone - I hope you have not seriously injured him, I really should not laugh at the suffering of another being.

Seeing his now worried expression, this time Urd was that the one who broke out into laughter. The sound of that laughter brought warmth and joy to Kenji´s heart. There was nothing else he could enjoy more than listening to her laugh, then she answered merrily - Don't worry, these are the customs of Hell, demons are educated to show their power, and accept the possible consequences, but I admit that I lost control. And he was a difficult patient, he thought I was going to attack him again. You really should have to see his face when he realized I was healing him with my magic potions, he has more respect for me and my potions. Now I have an ally who respects me. Seems I really needed to impose myself on the council. Now many of them fear me and respect me. Some of them also hate me, but for now I can ignore it, at least they will let me work. Seems everybody saw my point"

But Kenji realized there was more behind Urd´s words...

- Is everything all right?, I feel there is something else you are not telling me...

Urd's image stared at the mortal that seemed to know her better than herself. That mortal who gave up everything for her. With that mortal she could now speak with a frankness that would have been difficult even with Belldandy

- You are right. For long I have struggled to contain my frustration and my anger. Those are powerful feelings that in heaven always caused me problems, even if Belldandy helped me to vent some of it. But here, Hild, my mother encouraged me to let it out ... - Urd paused before confessing - ... and I enjoy it, you have no idea how much, and now that I think about it, I'm afraid that if Hild had not sent a spell to distract me, I could have killed him. I am scared about this power I have now because I know I can lose control. "

Kenji stretched his hand, trying to touch Urd´s image, but his hand went through it. so he instead looked tenderly into Urd´s eyes and sighed. After a pause he told her:.

- If you have anger in you, you must not deny it. If you deny your feelings they will eventually dominate you and if your will fails, they will overcome you.

- Are you saying I should act under the influence of wrath…?

- No, only that you should not refuse it exists. Instead you must use it against something more useful than thunder demons. I have worked with you, and I know your anger can become your biggest asset. - then he opened his mouth, but there was no sound, as if he could not find the correct words, instead he bit his lips not sure how to continue, but then said slowly. - When we worked together. More than once I pushed you until your anger was evident, and then I... I guided you to use it directed to a goal, so I know how powerful it is. - Urd winced at his confession, he had manipulated her!.- Now we have an enemy to conquer, let me help to guide your anger against it. I know we can do it. Trust me and trust in yourself.

Urd looked at him, while she resented that she had been manipulated, also she was relieved. She knew he was right:

- Thanks Kenji, thanks. I wish you were here, I need you. - Kenji was relieved, then smiled and said:

- Despite me being only a mortal and you a goddess? - Urd laughed at these words

- After all we have gone together, do you still need to ask me?

Kenji offered a shy smile as answer. If Urd was being honest with him, he should be doing the same:

- Yes, I needed to hear it. Even now, after all I have experienced, I can hardly accept everything that has happened. Even if I sought you and dreamed with you for more than a decade, I still have doubts that this is real and ... I have fear, I fear that I could awake just to find myself alone again ...

Urd could felt some wetness in her eyes, and smiled at this mortal: - Kenji, I'm more real than your own reality. - then Urd laughed, but the moistness in her eyes betrayed her emotion. - Listen to me Kenji. Now you are more than mortal, for you have touched the heart of a goddess, and you will live forever in it.

Dr Kenji Shugahara bowed his head, then looked at himself. His life had been completely disrupted by the encounter. His old-fashioned suit, and his tie had disappeared for a more conventional clothing. His face now had marks, almost imperceptible to other mortals, but they remind him of his new status. An even more, he felt many years younger and full of energy and passion. His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly heard Urd speaking in a very formal tone ...

- Listen to me, Dr Shugahara Kenji, you are now more than mortal. You are now one of the great judges along with Keiichi and Sentaro. Before you, I am "only" a goddess ...

Kenji looked at Urd awed ... But found there was a twinkle in her eyes that belied her formal tone and could not help to start laughing and Urd accompanied him. They were like two kids who suddenly have realized they had achieved something they never expected ...

Finally they stopped laughing and looked one into another eyes and then without the need of words, they knew there was work to do and it was time to devote to it.

- Kenji, I need your help, I have been examining those that suffering from this madness and I cannot find the cause. I tried the magic potions that seemed most appropriate, but it only works temporarily, it does not touch the root of the problem so it came back. I need ideas to work.

- Urd, do remember the epidemiological research protocols we discussed?, I know you do not like them, but it´s the only way to get information that can be verified. At least that will prevent you from proceeding blindly. That kind of methodical approach is slow, but it will avoid to jump from one idea to another. Keiichi will help me get the information Skuld would get from heaven. I seem she does not like the idea either, but we could convince her. And we will need to be constantly in touch with you. I will contact with epidemiological experts to help me develop a better plan ...

Kenji went on, outlining a research plan and Urd listened carefully and then discussed it with him to get more instructions and tips. She knew about his methodical character that was so alien to her, but she had seen what could be done with it. When Kenji was finished, she thought for a moment and added, gesturing around her image.

- Thanks to this we can work together ... - And could not help a flirtatious wink full of sensuality - but we cannot touch each other ... - Kenji gulped nervously and she enjoyed his discomfort, then she changed for a more serious tone- But this is also something that worries me. Keiichi told me that this computer - She signaled Keiichi´s battered desktop- is the host of a copy of adx-654. He doesn't know, but that is the code name the **Predictive Defense Program.** It´s one of the most complex pieces of software ever done. It´s impossible that kind of software could run on it. Simply there is no way... and even more, he has no idea how it got there.

- According to Skuld only a small part of that software is being executed, only its most basic routines. The complete software seems to be in a compressed package, but Skuld could not find out more. The software refused to communicate with her.

- Refused? Are you sure? Skuld is a genius at that. Her magic is directed towards machines, even if she does not realize she is using it. She should have been able to examine it without problems.

- Maybe if she could have more time, But when Lind sent us a messages reporting it was safe for Skuld to go to Heaven to help to restore Yggdrasil, she had to leave. Skuld only could find, the software seems to be damaged, especially its external I / O routines, so the software has to resort to low level communication. It's like those idiots geniuses, which can be extremely bright in one area, but unable to communicate, . Skuld told us,it uses our primitive routines to communicate.

- An "idiot savant"?, That would explain how it has managed to establish a direct communication channel to my personal room, one of the safest places in Hell, and going over all our security measures. Walharen almost suffered a panic attack when he heard about this, but I ordered him not to block this channel, or try to intercept it. Seems to be a very sleazy piece of software.

- That is something beyond me, I am not an expert. But i know that although we provided it with the codes Marller gave us to contact Nidhogg, it refused to use them and simply bypassed all security, it´s like if it were afraid!.

- Afraid? - Urd exclaimed in surprise. Kenji, It's just a piece of software!

- I am not sure, I think if I could speak to it, it could pass the Turing test, I believe this software is sentient.

- An artificial intelligence with conscience! - Urd exclaimed incredulous- Impossible. I know this program, and it should not be capable of that. As most software from Yggdrasil, It has special locks to prevent developing consciousness. There is something very strange. If it´s really **adx-654**, it could have been damaged. Please, be careful with it.

- That is why we will try to fix it. Skuld told us how much computing capacity we need in order to decompress the main program. ... - Urd arched an eyebrow in disbelief.

- Kenji, No machine on earth is capable of such feat. It´s a really complex piece of software, one that is even able to manipulate fate. That is my area and I know what I mean ...

Kenji smiled in delight... - It seems mortals can offer a few surprises. There is a supercomputer with that capacity, and its under construction. If I manipulate the proper channels I think we can use it when it´s finished. After all, now I am famous, and I can use that reputation to access it.

- So is it true? You have you revealed our existence to mortals? In other circumstances you would have a squad of Valkyries trying to erase your memory and all traces ...

Kenji smiled and commented delighted ...

- You mean the Valkyries to which I gave cooking classes.

Urd burst out laughing ... – Did you really do it? How is that Lind accepted?.

-I think she was looking for something to keep them occupied.

Urd sighed and looked at that curious and strange mortal she loved

- Yes Kenji, those Valkyries would still be willing to erase your memory if they were instructed to do it.

- Well, maybe it´s already too late for that. I´ts not something I had planned, but after Hild appeared, my colleagues began to send all the information they were gathering. Professor Nambu put a general meeting at CERN, and sent it to scientists all around the world, so I do not thing it would be easy to stop it now.

Urd heard Kenji in disbelief, that was really a mayor breach in security, even in normal circumstances, the whole squad would had been able to fix it, but now.

- But, haven´t done anything to prevent this either.

- No, I have spoken to Professor Nambu and agreed to continue. Soon I would spoke to scientist around the world and tell them everything I know.

Urd close her eyes, this was a mayor event in the history of the universes.

- Seems you are determinate to be a legend. You have changed heaven and Hell destiny and you are going to do the same to earth.

- Do you think Valkyries would still try to wipe my memory?

- Now you are one of the judges and you are beyond their reach, not even Hild and Belldandy have now authority on you, in the unlikely event they wish to do so. Still I do not like it. I think your realm cannot handle that knowledge.

- Urd, I think that the only harmful knowledge it the one you do not have. I know this will be a source of great conflicts, but it is something that should not be hidden any longer. Many people are helping us, and some have put their lives at risk, I cannot deny them to know why.

- Maybe your right. Maybe humans have grown enough to handle it. No matter what happens, I trust you, you have shown great wisdom. But I have the felling terrible times for our universes will come. But you must be careful with Ghadril, I do not know her, but she has fame to be an old fashioned Valkyrie, and a very strict one. Even so, I saw you have won their trust. Speak to her with honesty. Now I will start to work. Time is running out,

Urd and Kenji looked into their eyes. Urd touched her lips and blew a kiss to the mortal she loved then her image flickered faded.

* * *

The real Urd was in her room and saw the image faded, she stayed still, then sighed and proceed to work. Her room had been radically changed, she had preferred to use that familiar place as her workplace, here she knew all the hiding places and secret passages. She felt safe there.

She went to one of the walls, where a strange container had been placed. It seemed made of glass, but was actually almost pure energy, which acted as an impenetrable seal that contained almost a thousand floating discs. Each disc had a demon that had been sealed. The seal was one the extreme forms of punishment, consciousness was not lost, yet the body was dissolved so any kind of movement was impossible. Urd shuddered at the thought of the effects on an already crazy mind but under the circumstances, there seemed to be no other alternative.

She drew in the air a magical symbol that held an encryption key that only she, her mother and Marller knew, that opened the container and extracted one disk. She placed it in the center of the room where she had carefully drawn a magic circle, she had designed it to securely contain a demon. She did not know how dangerous it could be, so she had to be careful. Even a low-level demon such as the one she had chosen could be dangerous if she became careless.

She spread her hands and drew a cutting symbol that broke the seal. Suddenly a powerful demon appeared, it was not what she expected. This was a demon from the combat divisions!. Urd uttered some very unladylike words... She had made a stupid mistake at reading the codes.

The demon was strangely still, moving only his eyes while examining their environment. He was not a stupid soldier but a high rank with the ability to evaluate and command. He began to move slowly, stretching his powerful muscles, after reading his demon marks, Urd uttered another furious curse. This being had a magical shield on his skin that gave him powerful protection against magic, it would be difficult to keep him under control. The Demon looked at her and his face lit up in an evil smile. He stretched his powerful hands and crossed the container field as if it were not there. Urd felt a chill on her back. This demon seemed determined to cause trouble, she proceeded to reinforce the container field, and began to sing a higher container spell.

Suddenly the demon emitted a vicious growl and lunged at her with all his fury, Urd was in the middle of a spell, so could not react, so she prepared to receive the impact while planning a counterattack.

Suddenly she heard a thunderous sound, and perceived a blurred image that crossed her vision, and before she realized what was happening, the demon was prostrate on the ground and Bragg was on top of him, ready to launch another blow on him.

Urd was speechless, she had never seen Bragg in action and didn´t know he could move so fast. She recalled Marller´s words about him being an elite fighter. Bragg made sure the demon was left innocuous. He had knocked him out with just one swoop. Then turned to see Urd and looked at her as if she were just a naughty child.

- Princess is okay? You should be careful. Next time tell Bragg. Do you want him in circle? Will reinforce containment field with a battle spell.

Urd sighted, this rough being knew his business very well. She had underestimated him and forgot he was there. Now she understood why she had never managed to escape from him when she was a child.

- Thanks Bragg. Please put him in the circle and... - Urd did not finish the sentence, she had an idea. Maybe she could make Bragg be even more useful. She went to her potion cabinet and soon found what she wanted. Then returned to Bragg who was waiting patiently and ordered him. - ... And please open your mouth.

Without questioning the guard opened his mouth and Urd throw a pill at his throat. Bragg closed his mouth without a word, he calmly looked at Urd waiting for further orders, but after a few seconds, there was something different in his eyes. His eyes began to scan the room, while his stupid expression disappeared to be replaced by an expression of curiosity.

* * *

Kenji stayed still for a moment as the image of Urd was dissolved and tried to keep it in his memory. Then turned around to look at Keiichi. He had been mute witness, and now asked him.

- So you are really determined to reveal all?, The people at Chiba already know too much, but now you are planning to speak to people all around the world and tell them... That the gods exist, but they are not the gods they believe in.!

- This is correct, Keiichi. I am determined. All my life I have worked to gain knowledge and spread it. I shall not begin to hide it.

- But this is much more than giving out a medicine ... "I..." I had never really thought about this. I have been so happy with Belldandy, that I've forgotten how strange and incomprehensible it can be for other people. Several times friends and acquaintances at the university have been witnesses of the goddesses magic, but they preferred to pretend that they had seen nothing. Now I can understand, we can prefer to be blind to strange events, if they go against our logic. And now you plan to change all that. - Keiichi was thoughtful and his face showed his own doubts.

- Keiichi, you are extremely mature for your age. You are right. People prefer to reject what they cannot understand. But we cannot keep the truth hidden. It's much worse to discover that you have lived in ignorance.

Keiichi looked at the man. As a Japanese, respect for his seniors was deeply rooted in him, so he had a hard time daring question Dr Shugahara. He straightened and used a formal tone.

- Sensei, I'm just an engineering student, I am not a scholar nor a scientist like you. But I have lived with ordinary people and I have fear for them, I wish you could think more about this.

Shugahara smiled at this young man who spoke in all sincerity: - Keiichi, thanks for telling me your thoughts. I really know about ordinary people, and I also have fear, but even so, I cannot back down. Therefore I ask you and Sentaro to be with me. You will be my conscience, my heart and my eyes if I become blind to all this. I trust you.

Keiichi laughed nervously and scratched his head, trying to find the words, finally said.

- We'll be together. We are the order of mortal knights, and nothing will separate us.

The two men face each other and then shook hands. Keiichi then remarked with a smile:

- So, if you really want to continue with this, Dr Shugahara, then we must hurry. People are waiting for you outside. Apparently a group of mad scientists from all around the world have a few thousand questions to ask you.

A few minutes later, Dr. Shugahara, Keiichi and Sentaro went out together into the garden of the temple. There they were greeted by a dozen of very tired yet enthusiastic people; most were familiar faces from Chiba University. Shugahara stopped and took a depth breath. The events of the previous day still seemed like a dream. The sun shone in all its intensity, but there was still something of the freshness of the morning. He did not felt tired, but he knew it was due to Urd´s potion. There was so much to do, so he knew he would need them again.

Several colleagues from Chiba University went to meet him cheerfully, and then he saw Dr. **Takashi Yoshida,**

As he approached to talk with him, Kenji suddenly was shocked ...

Dr Takashi came by the hand of an attractive young woman who came dressed in an outfit almost identical as the one he used. Also their body attitude implied there much more than a friendship between them, but his surprise was greater when discerned the identity of the young woman:

- Ghadril?

As the couple approached him, she dropped Takashi´s hand and acquired a formal pose that left no doubts of her identity, finally when she arrived in front of Shugahara, she placed a knee on the ground, bowed her head and spoke formally.

- Sensei Shugahara. Commander Ghadril, Valkyrie Elite class, is reporting to you. I have been instructed to follow your orders. Until Kamisama or Lind returns or I get orders to return to heaven, you, the three judges are my direct superiors. I await your instructions.

Shugahara could not speak, he stared from Ghadril to **Takashi **and back. It was Keiichi who reacted first and with a shy voice, replied.

- Hey!, Ghadril, you can get up, you do not need to do that ... - The Valkyrie raised her face in puzzlement, and slowly got up.

Dr Takashi rushed to comment.

- Everything is ready for the WebCast transmission. When you are ready, give us 20 minutes to warn everyone. Our audience covers the whole world and all time zones, they will appreciate that we give them time to react.

Finally recovered, Shugahara thanked Dr Takashi and went face the Valkyrie, an important issue had to be resolved first, he need to think carefully. He knew that thanks to magic, Valkyries could speak his language, but also he had learned that words could be the same, but not the meaning. So he spoke trying to choose his words carefully.

-Commander Ghadril, please correct my if I am wrong. Excluding those mortals who have a contract with gods or demons, the current policy at Hell and Heaven has been to hide the gods and demons existence from humans.

- In general terms, that is correct, in practice it´s more complex. There is a treaty that allows a certain flexibility- She looked around - That is how Lind was able to temporary reveal ourselves to so many mortals.

- Temporary?- said Shugahara puzzled, then continued- Ghadril, what happens when mortals accidentally learn the truth about gods or demons?

- A special team is sent. Usually it is part of Valkyries duty. I myself have been part of the cleaning squad and had to contain several instances of leaks.

- What is your opinion now that so many mortals have knowledge about the gods... err... temporarily?.

Without hesitation Ghadril answered:

- Lind agreed that a small group of mortals would learn about us, but she expected that their memories would be erased after their services would no longer be necessary.

Shugahara gulped, he had not expected an answer so direct, but he was her superior so she spoke in all truth, then he thought for a moment and continued.

- I am planning to publicize the existence of gods and demons to the whole world, does it enters into conflict with your instructions?

Despite her impassive demeanor, Ghadril could not help but show some surprise, she looked into Dr Shugahara´s eyes and became convinced of his sincerity and his will to do it, then spoke slowly.

- That is... affirmative, that goes completely against my current orders

- Ghadril, I need to do it, please, I am not speaking as your superior, but as a friend. I need your help.

The impassive Valkyrie softened her gaze. To be called friend by one of the judges was a great honor. She bowed at Shugahara and with a gently tone, that contrasted with her previous attitude explained:

- You, the judges, are now my superiors, so you now have the authority on earth to give me a counter order before I proceed. I do not wish to erase your memories nor Takashi´s memories, they are precious to me. I have a duty, so If you are really going to do it, please give the counter-order.

Shugahara breathed relieved, he had feared a major conflict with the Valkyrie, despite Urd´s words.

- Very well then. My new orders are that the previous policy of concealment is suspended. I invoke my authority on you as a judge.

Ghadril looked ant Dr Takashi and allow the shadow of a smile, then look to Shugahara, bowed before him and simply said:

- I accept your new orders. Now I await further commands.

- thank you commander Ghadril. Now, I will need your help. I'm glad you are wearing mortal clothes today, they will call less attention to you. But soon we are going to make a web broadcast to many mortals around the world, so I ask you to use your uniform again, and stay ready, maybe I will ask you to perform any demonstration of your powers.

Before anyone could react, Ghadril nodded again, and without any hesitation, she dissolved her clothes and then reintegrated them into her usual combat uniform. The goddess was magnificent in her uniform, but that did not erase her temporary state from everyone's mind. The goddess slowly looked around, even she could see that all the men around her were petrified, yet she could not understand the reason. She looked at Dr Shugahara in search of an answer and asked in a formal tone:

- Is there a problem?, Or do you prefer dress uniform, I can change it easily - she lifted her hand to proceed, but an alarmed Shugahara stopped her.

- No!, wait …! - Shugahara gulped nervous trying to think how to explain the situation to the Valkyrie - Ghadril, huh!. As the next order, I will ask you not to change your clothes in public. The lack of clothing in our culture is considered a private act or part of the intimacy of a couple and it is considered inappropriate in public.

Ghadril quietly heard her new orders. She had seen many cultures, so the order made sense to her.

- Sensei Shugahara, I understand and will abide your orders, I will learn more about your culture to prevent further violations of your customs - then slowly turned towards Takashi and with a respectful bow told him: - Takashi-san, from now on, I will reserve the absence of clothes for you, I am deeply sorry if my previous behavior was inappropriate. -

As was reported later in some blogs, Dr Takashi Yoshida´s face took a long time to regain his habitual colorimetry. The congratulations from his colleagues contributed to the delay.

* * *

Hervieux Adlène walked aimlessly through the halls of the main building at CERN. He went by ignoring his colleague's greetings. That was not really surprising. Everywhere around the building, groups of people were heatedly discussing what they had seen. They knew it was just the tip of greater disclosure and some people preferred to be lonely thinking about the issue, so it seem natural if he just walk and walk thinking. Everyone had plenty to think about. Adléne was a grown man, about 52 years old, his French accent had a curious intonation that a trained ear could recognize he didn´t came from mainland France but from " the colonies" as some say still insist to say. He was a veteran of CERN, his face showed some toughness that suggested he had gone through difficult situations and maybe there was a hint of bitterness. His slow gait suggested a meticulous person with little patience for those who disagreed with him.

He saw with a distant air discussions and speculation running through all departments of the building, especially since the "runs" were suspended. Virtually all the staff was free, only those attending to the large supercomputer were working, while the giant machine devoured billions of numbers for the second, product of previous experiments.

Adlène's thoughts were very different from those his fellow colleagues. He felt a deep fear in his heart due to the previous revelations. His religious beliefs were now in deep conflict, and he wasn´t sure which way he need to go. And he was torn apart between two loyalties. He was almost completely devoted to the community of his colleagues in science, and this place was almost home for him, he had help to build it. But his congregation also required loyalty. People in his village had made sacrifices so that he managed to attend college and eventually came to this place. He had tried to correspond as best as possible, but knew that his people expected still more from him. And this was the circumstances, when the loyalty to his people had to be paid. If it was true what they had told him, with that knowledge the powerful countries would be much more powerful and his own people ... could disappear in an instant.

He was aware that people around him, his colleagues, would never seek to hurt his people, but he did not trust politicians. A few years before, his angry letters demanding that governments fulfill their commitments to treaties with his people had resulted in an arrest and a year in jail. He had been accused of nothing less than terrorism, and just because he wrote some letters.

Terrorist! If he really wished, he could do more harm than any of these so called terrorists ... His anger began to grow as he recalled his ignominious arrest, only his position at the prestigious CERN as a scientist and the support from the authorities at the center, had allowed him to be released from jail, but that did not prevent his anger. Had he been an ordinary person he would not be free.

He kept walking up and down the corridors of the center. Suddenly he saw a familiar figure. A slim and petite girl, walking along a stocky gunman. Yes!, that was the young girl that professor Nambu had mentioned. Suddenly he had an idea, then tried to remember ... What was her name?

- Hey!, Excuse me Mademoiselle ... I Forgot your name.

Jenny turned to see the newcomer with an intense curiosity and replied kindly, she was fascinated with the list of personalities that she had found around the place.

- There is no problem, I'm Jenny Rosenthal from the Argonne National Laboratory.

- Yes that's it, you're the girl that was introduced by Professor Nambu. It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm the Doctor Adlène Hervieux and I…

Jenny opened her eyes excited!.

- Yes, I know you. You are in charge of the experiment LHCf. I have read every article for your group, I find it so fascinating; I am delighted to meet you. I hope we have the chance to discuss your work; there are many aspects that I would like to know more thoroughly.

Hervieux looked surprised at the girl. He did not expect to find someone with so much passion about his own work. He gulped nervously, but decided it was not the time to feel guilty.

- It´s a pleasure to meet you. I hope to know more about your own work. From professor Nambu words, it seems to be very impressive, but I guess you cannot tell anything until it gets published.

Jenny looked nervously at her guardian and he negated with his head.

- I am sorry, but I have been asked not to mention any of this ahead of time.

- It's a shame, but I would ask a favor, could I take a picture with you.

- with me?, but you are a renowned scientist. Why me?

- In some ways I'm just a bureaucrat of science that only makes some routine work. But you, you will be famous and it will be an honor for me to have a photograph with you.

Sergeant Valois interrupted.

- Mademoiselle Rosenthal, I think it is not appropriate - and added a few hurried words in French to the man.

But Jenny was delighted: - I am sure that nothing wrong can happen. For me it would be an honor to have a picture along Dr. Hervieux.

Sergeant Valois doubted but finally nodded, this was a famous scientist and she seemed so pleased.

Dr. Hervieux pulled out his cell phone and instructed Sergeant Valois to take the picture, finally he stood beside the girl and put his arm over her shoulder. She felt nervous and delighted. For her, he was the celebrity, and barely noticed when the picture was taken. Finally the sergeant handed the phone to Dr Hervieux. After a brief farewell, Jenny retired while she tried to explain the work of Dr. Hervieux to Sergeant Valois. The sergeant laughed merrily at his inability to understand barely any word from the explanation of the young enthusiast.

Dr. Hervieux leaned against the wall and could not avoid a chill, a cold sweat came over him and he felt nauseous, but finally made his decision, slowly, almost like a robot, he went to his cubicle, turned on his personal computer, seeking information he had received, and began to type furiously. After an hour, he reviewed his work, then took his cell phone to downloaded Jenny´s picture form it and append it to the file. Once completed, he proceeded to compress and encrypt all files with a military-grade algorithm. Then he looked at his e-mail and skillfully extracted some numbers that came scattered on a family letter. The numbers were an IP address and a password to access a server in China, probably it had been hacked by his people and he knew it would be impossible to trace. He used an old-fashioned ftp client to connect to the server and uploaded the file, then waited a few minutes more. Finally he proceeded to delete all the files on his computer, and after that, started to run a routine to completely erase the hard drive. He looked unflinching at the screen as the routine filled slowly his hard drive with rows of zeros and ones, to overwrite any files that could still existed there. About an hour later, the routine reported his hard drive was unrecoverable, so he reached out and grabbed the phone on his desk.

Slowly and deliberately began to dial a number, a female voice answered.

- I am the personal secretary of the CEO, what I can do for you.

The man smiled bitterly, and breathed slowly.

- I'm the Doctor Adlène Hervieux, currently in charge of the LHCf experiment. I need to speak immediately with the general director Esbardo Amallad.

- I think it will be impossible, you know that we are in a critical situation and the director Amallad is very busy. Is it possible that you can postpone your call?

- Impossible, is related to the current crisis Please tell him...- he felt weak, but son recovered- Please tell him that I have a confession to make ...

* * *

**End of Chapter XXIV**

* * *

**Comments:**

- I thank to Howard Shore for his magnificent music: "The Lord of the Rings - Complete Symphony". He provided me with inspiration to write this chapter

_**LHCf:**_ Stands for _Large Hadron Collider forward_

_**ftp client: **_Stands for File Transfer Protocol, it´s one of the oldest way´s to send a file to a server and it´s really not the safest way to do it...


	25. Chapter 25: Conspiracies

_Like all authors of Fanfics, I live from your comments._

_Please comment, criticize, or at least say hello ..._

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

by Elnauhual aka Javier Delgado

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

**Chapter XXV - rev 2**

**Conspiracies**

It was an anonymous shabby little room, full of old and decrepit wooden furniture that had worn edges showing the large number of people who had been there. There was no evidence, no adornment to indicate that someone would have wished to mark this place as his own, so despite being a department it felt like an anonymous public office.

The air was stale, the few windows it had been covered by heavy curtains blocking the passage of light and air so the room was almost in darkness that a couple of incandescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling naked, failed to overcome.

In the center of the room, a man walked back and forth, it was a slow and obsessive walk like an old tiger in a cage. His clothes were indistinguishable from the one used by most of the people of this town, but his attitude was very different. He had a stone like face with a short beard beneath which some scars were visible, a fiery look and a proud stance that could be more appropriate for a statesman. He paused to inhale the smoke of a cigarette; his hand was stained with nicotine which showed that it was an ingrained habit, then continued his walk. Suddenly he stopped mid-step, as if he had an idea and slowly walked to a rickety table at one end of the room, he sat and put on a pair of old fashioned eyeglasses, then took a bunch of papers and notes and began to look for something.

His eyes scanned the papers, stopped, returned and re-evaluated what they had in front. They seemed to be the only part alive from his face. After reviewing a paper, threw it in disgust to a small brazier where there was some burning coal so that paper instantly burned into flames, briefly illuminating the room. The heat and smoke added to the tightness felt in the room.

A noise distracted him, it was the opening of a lock, he stayed motionless for an instant while he tried to identify it, his muscles were tense, ready for action. Finally he smiled at the sound of footsteps that were already known so did not bother to look at the newcomer.

- Is there anything new? We need to do something or the world will forget about us.

The newcomer hesitated, he brought with him an old portfolio. He could have passed for an obscure bureaucrat that no one would care to notice. His clothes were clean but worn out, and had a plodding gait, it was difficult to determine his age, since the hair that was beginning to disappear make him to look older. He looked at his partner with a lingering fear, swallowed hard and spoke.

- We have a strange message. It´s from Doctor Adlène Hervieux.

The man at the table raised his head at that name, and slowly placed the papers on the table. He removed his heavy glasses and slowly turned to see the newcomer.

- Our old friend, Dr. Hervieux?. Yes, I remember him. Did he commit the stupidity of sending more letters again? As if they would do any good. I always thought it was useless to educate people to be among them, very soon they begin to think like them.

- No, no, this is something... - gulped again, and licked his dry lips with excitement. - it´s something quite different. He sent us a report about a discovery, but it is something very strange.

The man at the table smiled slightly.

- A new discovery? That's interesting. What can it do for us?

The man with the briefcase pulled out some printed sheets containing photos of a destroyed laboratory and offered them to the man at the table. He looked at them with curiosity.

- He says this was the result of the action of a few milligrams of a strange material, but warns that it is very unstable.

The man scratched his chin, and quickly reviewed the photos, pausing before a photo that seemed out of place, it was Dr. Hervieux hugging a very young girl. With a puzzled look, wondered why the professor would have sent him a photo of himself. Mentally he ignored the girl, after all, she was only a woman,

- Only a few milligrams eh? What did this? I think we could put it to good use. Does he tell us how we can get it? Or he believes that knowledge of its existence is enough for us?

The man with the portfolio shuddered.

- He does not tell us how - cringed at the reproaching look of the man- But he tells us that this person knows how to do something more stable. - He pointed Jenny Rosenthal´s photo, the frail petite girl hugging the doctor. - According to Hervieux, she is a brilliant scientist and ...

He was abruptly interrupted by an ominous laugh, then the man said:

- That girl?, Who could have imagined. No matter, find out how we can approach her. I do not think we would need to mistreat her too hard to get her to cooperate and if not, it would be good to leave them without that - his face changed to a deep contempt - "brilliant scientist". How can they be so stupid to leave that in the hands of a woman? Do you have something else?

The man with the portfolio turned pale and commented- 'Also he tells us a very strange story, it´s about ... - he had an involuntary shivering - ... a meeting with gods and demons and a covenant with them.

The man at the table stayed frozen for a moment and slowly his eyes shrink to a sliver, then stood up abruptly throwing the chair, the fury invaded his body and looked at his partner and began to scream.

- I knew it, knew it. All their power comes from an evil pact. This explains why we have been squashed. The world must know this, so they repudiate them and join us to exterminate them. - Then closed his eyes until they seemed just two slits. - Dr. Hervieux will have to help us to get more evidence for this blasphemy.

The man with the portfolio took a step back and began stuttering.

- But he says here, he is not going to help us, that this is his last communication and that he wishes that his people can live now in peace

Instead of the expected fit of anger, he heard a soft laugh that give him chills.

- Left us? He cannot refuse those who are right and go to join the blasphemers. We'll have to remind him, who he really is. If I remember well, his family still lives in a village a few hours from here. We will have to pay them a visit so their dear and notable relative will remember about them ...

* * *

The office of CERN's Director General was not very different from the other offices: large windows overlooking the gardens of the building, two spartan desks with a pair of laptops, some awards hanging on the walls and piles of magazines, publications and other materials that invaded most of the available space, just some of the chairs of the place had been spared from that fate, and were occupied by two men, one of them, Professor Nambu commented exalted.

- I cannot believe it was him. I expected a leak of information from one of the youngest, but not Dr. Hervieux.

The other man, the director quietly replied

- I've always said you are too idealistic. You would not be apt to run a place like this - The director spoke without ostentation, he was just commenting on a fact. - I did expected something like that.

His words helped to calm professor Nambu, but still he was uneasy.

- But I think it was you who helped him to get out of jail ...

- Yes, and also I know the reasons that led him there and also know those reasons have not disappeared, but his brain is very valuable, so I decided to take a risk ...

- And he failed you. - Commented Nambu in disgust.

- Twenty years of giving everything he had to build this place, is not a failure. But maybe it´s not so disastrous. Some time ago I asked the people at Systems to monitor his activities. One of them was so excited; he commented he would install a "Keyloger" on his machine.

- That does not seem very ethical - frowned Nambu- you did not have authority to do so.

- I tell you, you're too idealistic. I feel good about having made that decision, so let´s see what we find.

The director took the phone and dialed an internal number, a young and enthusiastic voice answered.

- Hi, this is Systems. Jean Verdiux speaking.

- Hey, I you just want to talk with you.

- Director!, What a surprise. What I can I do for you?

- Do you remember my requests about Dr. Hervieux.

- Of course I do. So do you want to see what he has been up to? Wait a minute.

The director blinked at the enthusiasm of the young technician. He seemed so eager to show off his skills, he had not even asked the reason. All he could hear was the sound of a keyboard being pounded, followed by a series of rapid staccato sounds. Not a minute had passed when he heard the young voice.

- Here I have a log of his activities. Oh!. He sent a file ... - the young man stopped talking and suddenly erupted in loud laugh - ... a file via FTP to a server in China?. What is he doing? ¿Uploading a pirated movie? Or maybe an indiscreet video?

- Enough!, That's not funny.- the director said angrily- You know what happened in recent days. Dr. Hervieux sent confidential information to someone outside here, I want to know what he sent and to whom. Can you find out?

- Of course, I am sure that Dr. Hervieux believed he was a clever spy and thought nobody would notice. We're not in 1995 ...

- Okay, I know you think everyone older than 30 years is ancient. Now, please get this information.

- Chief ... I will get it, but I want something in return.

- In return? - The direct looked to Professor Nambu with a resigned air, Nambu watched the exchange with amusement- What do you want in return? More holidays?.

- No, it´s something much more interesting. I want some computing time in the "grid".

- You know that all the time is rationed and allocated.

- That is why I ask it as a special favor. I have a mathematical model that I want to try.

- Okay, I will allocate some access time for you, but first, get me that information.

The manager hung up and looked to an amused Professor Nambu, who asked :

- Do you also monitor my mail?

- You know that we are public servants, so all of our emails are stored for future reference, that goes with the job. Now let's hope this is not as bad as it sounds.

- Do you think we'll have more leaks? I do not want a scandal ahead of time, I guess many governments are going to get paranoid when they find out what we discovered.

- Out of the first videos uploaded at "**youtube**", and I wonder who was the idiot, all the communications have been done through our own internal networks. Our system connects directly through more than 150 universities and scientific centers of the world trough our own fiber optics and high band networks. Our computing people told me that so far governments do not care much about us as the flow of information we have exceeds by several orders of magnitude what their systems can handle and its mostly data they cannot understand, so far it has been possible to hide our streams on it. Currently all nodes at the grid had local copies of the material, and we expect to disseminate it to centers outside the grid, so it will be impossible to censor it when the time comes.

- Then you agree that sooner or later all this must be public, even if we are going to have a lot of pressure in order that only a few know the whole truth.

- I confess I do not like the whole mess we are into - said the director, with concern in his voice - but as scientists we are committed to never hide the truth. I remember we discussed at length the case of the publication in _Nature_ and _Science_ magazines on how to obtain an airborne infectious strain of Avian influenza. It was finally decided that despite being a potential hazard in the long run it was the best.

- And we do not want to repeat what happened after the World War, when only a few countries had access to nuclear technology and that resulted in the Cold War.

- So you're aware that we are going to irritate a number of governments and especially some militarists. So far no one suspects what is going on, but sooner or later we will call their attention. We have to carefully plan our next steps, all our people is eager to talk about this, so the must be certain how we are going to disclose it. What do you plan do now?

The two men stared at each other and finally Professor Nambu spoke:

- I think it's time to talk to the initiator of it all- he said with a wide grin- We need a long discussion with Dr Shugahara. It's time he shares some of the blame for this conspiracy.

* * *

Urd looked at the scene with exasperation. Before her there were a dozen demons, They were the highest and most renowned in healing chants, healing magic spells, magic alteration, magical aura phenomena, myths and magical chants, ancient history and other sciences. They were seated at a long table that she had materialized in her room. All had dignified attitudes, and wore elegant and elaborate robes that marked their ranks and merits. One of them had an annoyed expression, a small column of smoke rose from his clothes, the result of Urd´s temperament.

Urd was floating in the air, trying to think how to fix the situation. Unlike the great council, these demons were not greatly impressed with her power, her elaborate and revealing clothes, her marks or her titles. They were not very powerful, but they knew much more complex magic than the average demon, her outburst, that would have impressed the council, here it produced only a slight burn.

She closed her eyes and turned around trying to think, Kenji had told her that she should not work alone, instead she must rely on the wisest of her world, but apparently she had some communication problems, Urd thought - Kenji, I wish you were here, you know you to motivate and organize people. - Then sighed, Kenji was not there, she had to resolve this alone. Finally took a deep breath and returned to her place.

- I think we had a bad start. - she tried to stay calm- I have not called you to impose my authority on you, I have called you- Urd hesitated before saying something that always was hard for her to say - I have called you because I need you, our world needs you. The madness overcomes us, and causes chaos, victims and destruction. Unfortunately the armed forces are not immune to it.

Her words had the desired effect, a number of demons nodded gravely, one of them replied.

- Urd-sama, Hild´s daughter. We are not really sure why you call us, we are all working for a cure for this disease that invades us. You do no need to ask us for our help.

Urd gasped, suddenly she realized that for them, she was only Hild´s daughter, a pampered princess that left their world as child and knew little about them and not Urd: specialist in potions, the number one **Sysop** at Yggdrasil and a Norn. That hurt her pride, but she could understand their point. For them, she was just a distraction and not someone who could help. What would Kenji do instead?, Her ire disappeared as she focused on the immediate problem. She smiled remembering how Kenji managed to infect everyone with his enthusiasm, using a mixture of praise, criticism and humor, not guiding but leading, also she had to remember that those demons had the same goal as her. She took a depth breath and started to talk:

- I have called you because all of you are the best in your respective arts. But also because I think I can help to organize, to unite our efforts and use the authority I have to give you all the resources you may need.

A murmur of approval came from the group. Despite their high rank as scholars, their work was not appreciated in this world where long time ago, old age and disease had been vanquished. The only area that still were flourishing was to heal combat wounds and developing of combat magic. One of them, a tall and thin demon, wearing an elaborate hat showing his various areas of knowledge, commented with some hesitation.

- If you want to help us ... Maybe you could give us better facilities, more access time to Nidhogg and even some helpers. I think it´s not much.

He had barely finished his words when Urd said- Done.! - With an elegant flourish she generated a data screen, reviewed some data on it, and sent it floating to the demon. He read it carefully and threw a word of surprise, then nodded slowly. Urd waited then added: - I hope this is enough; I know most of your needs, since in a way I am also a scholar. - she generated other data screens that were sent to each one of the demons. - I have assigned working spaces for you within the palace, now you all are valuable, even more, there will be someone from Hild´s personal guard watching for your safety.

A new murmur of surprise came from the demons. That was a high honor. The murmur grew as they compared what they had received, yet another demon commented still with some doubt in his eyes.

- Urd-sama, I appreciate this. This is very generous, no one had taken us into account before, we all have needs and you have offered us a high honor. But I think seems there is something else. Is not that so?

Urd smiled, She had underestimated their intelligence. - Yes there is something else. Each one of you is currently working on his own field, and ignoring others, we cannot continue doing that.

- But ma'am, if everyone works in a different area, why should we work together?

- Listen to me. I cannot compete with you on your individual areas, yet I know things that you do not know.

Another demon rose, Urd knew him, he was one of the oldest of the wise, and despite that demons could have an eternal youthful appearance this one had a corpulent body with a big white beard that Urd had always considered a show off. Urd had to suppress a laugh. He was Wootan Woddin guardian of the ancient healing poetry. She had used his image to create some fantastic tales when she had lived between the Norse but his words quickly drove away her smile.

- You tell us then. If we judge you by your marks, we do not know if we can trust you. Will you tell us if this curse was sent from heaven? A disease that does not kill? That's a very clever way to attack us without involving the doublet system. Certainly there are some casualties, but mostly the disease weakens us and makes us vulnerable. Maybe this is the start of an invasion. This can only come from our enemies and you have the marks of our enemies.

Urd had expected that accusation, but that could not prevent her to feel anger, so a white glow began to emanate from her fingers. Urd floated again in the air. But then she realized the demons were tense and began to mutter defensive spells, yet at the same time they were trying to preserve their dignity and pretend they were not afraid. In some way it was funny, Kenji would have had a humorous phrase at hand for this, so Urd could not help but start laughing ... But this had an opposite effect to what she expected. This time she saw fear on their the(remove) faces. Urd froze suddenly remembering what might happen when her mother laughed. She closed her eyes and tried to take a calm attitude. Slowly she descended to her seat, while the demons looked amazed. The explosion they expected never materialized. Urd looked calmly at her accuser, then smiled, trying to be as honest as she could, and avoiding the ingratiating smile her mother used to hide her true feelings.

- That's the problem, you are so immersed into your work, that you have not heard the news.

- What news? - Asked an intrigued Woddin.

- The doublet system has been suspended.

A chorus of stunned voices emerged from the demons, who quickly began to inquire to each other, seeking confirmation of this amazing news. After a brief confusion, Woddin stood in a questioning attitude.

- That is impossible, there is only one way to suspend it and it´s by a ...

- A Magna Truce? That just happened!

- But ... What about the judges? All the other races are gone.

- There is another race!

- That's impossible, there is only the ... - The demon hesitate to say that word.

- Only the mortals are left. That is Right. Three mortals have been appointed as judges and they were armed with the weapons of the first born. - Urd realized she was enjoying the game, but refrained. She would gain nothing trying to poke fun at their ignorance on this issue of the wisest demons of Hell, so she changed her tone- We owe you an apology, the recent events have been so unexpected that apparently nobody explained to you the full situation. Listen to me, this is very important. A Magna Truce has been declared since gods in heaven are also suffering from this strange disease. Kamisama and Hild agreed that it is a threat to the multiverses, so they decided to cease any hostility and work together. .

The demons were stunned ... Woodin exclaimed

- A disease that attacks both heaven and Hell? That cannot be coincidence.

- I agree, that is why we need to work together, and not only us, but also among the other races. I will be the link to get information about what is happening in Heaven. Soon we will have detailed information. Heaven is currently our ally.

The demons were silent, Urd had destroyed their world view and turned it around 180 degrees. It was critical they accept it.

Finally one of them, the insolent who had received the burn, asked in a scared tone.

- I think I want to know more about what is happening before relying on our enemies. We know you're part goddess, but I do not trust Kamisama and I think you should not trust him, even as a goddess. Urd frowned at the assertion. It was unexpected but it was not the appropriate moment to ask, since she had a good reason to trust.

- I trust the new Kamisama

- New Kamisama? What are you talking about?

- Listen, the old Kamisama is dying- Urd could not avoid enjoying his stunned expression - And now the new Kamisama is my sister Belldandy. She is someone we can trust - The goddess smiled with satisfaction at their silence, looked around and finally said: - Now if you do not object, may I invite you to participate in an old Earth custom called " To Drink tea" and start working together.

* * *

Lind materialized above Yggdrasil´s central node and witnessed the destruction that lay under her. This was not caused by the attackers, but Belldandy, who without any regard or attempt at self-control had defeated the attackers. It seemed she had not cared about the destruction she caused around her.

She observed that the area was patrolled by a score of very young Valkyrie, Lind called the attention to the one that seemed to be the senior. She was unknown to her, probably was one of the newly accepted:

- Commander. Give me your report about the situation.

She took a while to react, apparently the thrill of battle had overcome her and at first ignored her call but after recognizing the legendary Lind gasped in admiration and quickly flew to stand in front of her.

- Milady Lind, I... - she quickly tried to regain her composure- ... I am Kára, NCO assigned as commander of the third recruit phylum, - She looked around trying to find the appropriate word to report to her incommensurable superior - Eh! The battle was ...I mean ... - she felt Lind´s angry gaze upon her- The battle is over.

- That I can see myself.

-Yes milady, I... I mean: Kamisama defeated all the disturbed - her eyes were full with admiration - it was awesome, no one could oppose resistance, she swept them like leaves ... Then she ordered us to seal them all and then she departed. That's what we're doing, here I have them. - The excited girl took a small bag she carried in her belt and from there levitated about twenty small disk with magical sealing signs.

Lind took a deep breath before answering, no one would have dared to present so ramshackle report before her, so she took a moment considering a not very nice sequence of possible disciplinary actions. She took mental note of the most appropriate and then decide to cut down the young girl enthusiasm.

- How many "disturbed" were attacking this place? - The young Valkyrie opened her mouth surprised at the question, raised her hand and scratched her head nervously ...

- Hey!, I think they were about six hundred ...

- Do you think?. And how many prisoners do you have? - The Valkyrie gulped at the few discs floating in the air realizing the victory was not so great, then answer timidly.

- Twenty-two.

- So, most of them fled. I also assume you did not think about putting tracers on them.

Suddenly another Valkyrie, even younger, flew in front of Lind, and made a proper salute.

- Milady Lind, I'm Thrud, third-class recruit, reporting. Most of the one suffering the madness flew when Kamisama began to attack them.- she pointed to another two very young recruits - When we realized, I called my two mates and we went after them, since they were too many we decided to mark them with tracker spells. Unfortunately we could not mark all- she made a simple magic pass and a map materialized in front of her, with hundred of moving marks.

- Who gave the order to do this? - Lind said in a stern voice. She swallowed hard when asked, nervously she looked at Kára, it was obvious she was trying to distract Lind from her superiors' failure, but she could not lie to Lind.

- No one ma'am, I thought it was the best thing to do and had no other orders...

- Very well done. - Lind carefully observed the girl. She had kept a cool head in a crisis, instead of being carried away by emotion, she needed people like her.

- Recruit Thrud. You have done an excellent job. I appoint you as commander of the third phylum of recruits. Your two companions will be your staff- The girl opened her mouth in amazement, but immediately regained her discipline-

- Thank you, madame

- Sergeant Kara. - Her face paled, but said nothing, she had realized her mistakes,- You will stay temporarily under the command of Thrud, you will be her adviser with the protocols she does not know.

After a brief pause, Thrud replied with energy

- Yes, madam.

- Listen!. You must locate the "disturbed" that have been marked. They should be sealed but you must act together. I do not want any kind of heroism, do not take unnecessary risks. You are very valuable for that. If you find you are after a senior god, ask for help from a staff officer. Also you should take care of your energy, by now you should have been instructed not to absorb energy from Yggdrasil until further notice. Do not disclose this outside the command structure, do not ask questions, just obey.

The young Valkyries saluted here smartly and shouted -Yes ma'am,- then departed to fulfill their mission under their new leader. While Kara had remained silent, in her favor, there was a determination in her eyes to fulfill her new orders.

Lind saw the girls part, for an instant she remembered long time ago when she had been young and duty was straightforward, she sighed, she knew she was just delaying her meeting with Belldandy, but it was time to find out what was going on.

She rose in the air to feel the excess of energy emanating from Belldandy. It was easy to locate her, she was in the control area of the node, without knowing exactly why, Lind had a chill and flew to the building.

The entrance was guarded by two Valkyries from her elite squad.

- Where is Othala?. - The senior quickly saluted and reported:

- She and two other Valkyries took a recruit who was injured during combat, Othala hoped she could save her life. We were left in charge of escorting and guarding Belldandy-sama, but she ordered us to stay here at the entrance. The remainder from the squad are protecting the entrances. Due to the damage to the building during the battle all security systems collapsed.

Lind was left pensive; it seemed that Belldandy had left the building more helpless than before. She did not like it.

- What happened during the battle?

- It was not really a battle and happened too quickly for us to intervene. Belldandy was heading for the entrance of the building when one of the infected attacked her. Until that moment Belldandy had paid little attention to them. But in that moment she reacted violently, so she rose in the air and launched simultaneous attacks against all of them. Before we could react, several of them fell unconscious to the ground as a result of the ferocity of her attack and the others began to flee. Belldandy's attack, destroyed the defense systems that were still intact, so Othala ordered to the main squad to guard the place in case the infected returned. The other squads and recruits were sent to patrol the other nodes. There is a group of recruits that received direct orders from Belldandy so Othala decided not to interfere. Then she ordered us to follow Belldandy-sama.

Lind nodded, everything seemed to by going according her suspicions.

- Do you know if the people of the guild of healers have found out something about the madness?

- No, Othala has been in contact with them, but they have not found the cause. They have been too busy taking care of the wounded during the chaos.

- Well, continue following Othala orders, do not get separated from Belldandy, but I need to you keep me informed of her activities. Until the communication channels are unblocked and restored, use message crystals

The two Valkyries saluted and said in unison:

- Yes madam.

Lind quickly went to the control room, she hoped that it were not too late.

The room seemed very small and austere, unlike nodes like the one at Goddesses earth support, this place was not designed to have active staff, just some maintenance technicians, since only a few operations done from here. Lind could not avoid an involuntary exclamation of surprise at entering the room.

Belldandy was in the center, with a vacant stare looking at the floating holographic screens that reflected all Yggdrasil´s inner activity, as if I she didn't know where she was, At her feet lay two prostrate technicians, their uniforms torn as if they had been subjected to a great force.

Belldandy felt her presence and turned around to see her.

- Oh, it´s you. - Lind!. I'm glad to see you. Tell me, what do you think?, Do you think they liked it? Do I win my nickname "the powerful Belldandy"?, It was fun, it's good you left me to do it alone. - Suddenly she started laughing with childlike laughter that only made Lind´s heart shudder.

- Yes, Belldandy-sama I'm sure they liked it. I can feel their feelings after all your actions- then Lind pointed to the prostrate figures on the floor - What happened to them? Did the attack you? Were they infected?

Belldandy eyes flickered, as if the technicians had not existed before. She looked at them in surprise. She concentrated trying to remember.

- I am not sure, I think they did not want to let me in, and ... I think I got angry and then ... - suddenly Belldandy began to tremble as her memories came back. She looked incredulously at the technicians and lucidity returned to her eyes, she stammered - I ... Did I do that? ... - She exclaimed frightened, then quickly kneel down at technicians, and her eyes filled with tears. She touched their face, closed his eyes and cried with relief. - They are alive! - Immediately she began to sing a healing spell.

Seizing the moment, Lind rose her hands and began another spell, it was an encrypted stream of codes that blocked access to the consoles at the room. Gradually the data consoles that were floating in the air began to disappear. Soon, only an empty room was left.

Belldandy meantime had managed to revive the technicians and now they looked at her with fear. Belldandy looked at Lind seeking answers.

What happened ? Where are we?

- All is right now, I will ask some of my officers to help you to take the technicians to the healers. I have been informed there are many wounded who would appreciate your presence and your healing gifts. - Belldandy nodded, and with a gesture she levitated the terrified technicians. Lind approached them and told then a few reassuring words, so they calmed. Then told Belldandy. - I will have to leave you. At the entrance that are two officers that will escort you the healers' guild. I will meet you later at the council chamber-

Belldandy nodded, there was sorrow in her eyes, and a tear was tuning running down her check. She went to meet the Valkyries the technicians trailing along behind her. As soon as she were left alone, Lind raised her hand and blew a new communication spell. A small crystal appeared on her hand. This was the most secure communication medium, since it never interacted with any external system and only would deliver its data to the ones that were targeted. This would never hand over its contents except to those it had been coded to. This small crystal was the safest form of communication. She put it in command mode:

- Receivers: To all High Command level 1 Valkyries. Maximum Priority, encryption level IV. Status Confidential. Deliver immediately. Ask confirm receipt, confirmation code: Ragnarok

Lind stared at the crystal on her hand and stayed silent. Words failed to form as she realized the next words would be the most important action on her almost eternal life. If she was wrong, she would be committing the greatest crime on her world. Treason.

* * *

The figure of a powerful demon was floating above the table. The body was partially transparent and it was full of notes and diagrams that were overlaid on it, also several floating screens were emitting a torrent of information about the body. All watched with attention as it showed a substance that was introduced through the skin and penetrated into the powerful body. It went directly to their nerve centers. Diagrams slowly beginning to change color, indicating that several anomalous lecture were going to normal values, at least for a demon fighter. Urd spoke.

- Simulation: Pause! - She looked around her and was pleased, she had managed to impress the wisest demons from Hell, that was even more rewarding than zapping a council member. She took a few second to enjoy the moment and continued - At that moment, he seemed to return to normality, he was able to think and even apologized for attacking me. All seemed normal and there was no trace of any foreign element. - - Simulation: advance to reinfection event!. - The image change, it amplified sections of the brain and marked conflict points. It was as if the brain were fighting against Urd´s potion, this was encapsulated and neutralized - As you see, the madness returned, somehow the culprit was hidden somewhere and returned. It has the capability to neutralize my potion. After that it became immune to it.

There was a prolonged silence. Woddin stroked his beard while he meditated, then remarked, pointing to the display before him.

- This is very strange, I myself used that potion on a case - Urd, along with several demons could not avoid a surprised exclamation, one of the greatest scholars of Hell was saying he had been using potions!, Urd thought maybe she had misjudged him. Woddin looked around, he was very aware of the effect of his words. - Yes, I used a magic potion. I have tried every spell, chant and enhance magic implements that I thought could work and nothing worked. We are in a desperate situation and I will try even home remedies if necessary. But I cannot understand why it worked in this case, at least momentarily. So far nothing I have tried produced any effect.

Urd smiled proudly pointed to her potions cabinet and with a magic pass, she levitated a small metal container. She sent it to Woddin. He took a vial that was on it, opened it, smelled it and then closed her eyes. He concentrated using a chant in order to connect to the properties of the material. After a few seconds opened his eyes in astonishment.

- This material is extremely powerful and has an extraordinary purity. How do you obtain it?

- A mortal helped me to refine my procedure. He is one of the mortals who was selected as a judge.

Woddin stayed thoughtful and commented:

- He must be a very special mortal and from your voice tone, I think you appreciate him. Tell me. Is he the author of the plan you are proposing? It is an extremely detailed and thorough plan, however it has some concepts that are not used in Hell or heaven, also it has a few errors that shows it comes from someone who does not fully understand the finer details of a ten dimensional being.

Urd smiled, she was proud of Kenji´s achievements. - Yes, his name is Dr Kenji Shugahara, but he is not the only author, there are other wise mortals. I think they can help us.

Woddin smiled, he pleased to have guessed it. He stroked his white beard and finally said.

- And I thought that relying on potions and remedies was very daring. Now you ask us to enlist the help of mortals, that's ... - he suddenly burst into laughter- sound wonderful!. When all else has failed against the madness, maybe an insane plan is the solution.

Urd sighted in relief. She had expected an outright rejection, but apparently Woodin was not so pompous as she remembered. Now as an adult her perspective seemed to have changed. Maybe one day she would confess to him the stories she had created about "Odin the patriarch of the Nordic gods".

Woodin rose from his seat with as much dignity as he could and proclaimed,

- Then we follow the protocol of this Dr Shugahara

Urd nodded and said to all demons

- I will ask Woddin to make the necessary corrections for these plans according his knowledge. I have asked to Walharen to developed a system at Nidhogg that will allow us to keep abreast of the progress of others. Any other questions before ending the meeting?

To Urd´s surprise, several of them raised their hands ... One of them asked with a very serious tone.

- Could you add tea to our list of supplies?

* * *

Dr. Shugahara was in his apartment, but he was not alone, two men of Indian nationality were with him. The youngest one was fascinated inspecting Dr Shugahara department, examining the memories of his trips. Mask, plants, magic and witchcraft elements from a dozen cultures but specially many items from Norse origin that were completely alien to him. Meanwhile professor Sripathi was speaking with Dr Shugahara.

- It was very kind for you to let Somasindhu stay here with you. It will be a very good opportunity for him to become accustomed to Japan until the classes start at the Tokyo Medical University.

- On the contrary. I have no way to thank you for your support, yet I still need more from you. Are you aware of everything that has been happening? I have been so busy that I have not been able to explain all to you.

- Do you refer to the crisis in heaven and hell, or the heaven and hell which seem about to occur on earth.

Dr Shugahara smiled, it was a good way of putting it.

- Both, but for the moment the most important for us is our world. We have a lot of physicists about to make the most important revelation in the history of mankind, and all indications are that they will do so with the touch of a bull in a china shop. We have to intervene.

- Do you think they will take our advice? But more important, What can we do to help?

- They have the knowledge and value reason, but they think all people think like them, but for many people this is not enough. We need these revelations to also touch the heart of humanity or risk them rejecting the knowledge. We have to look at the roots of humanity to prepare for this bold step. Without it, this knowledge it could destroy our civilization.

- Do you mean to use our myths and legends to prepare the way? There are many stories about gods coming to earth and cooperating with humans, but I am not sure if it will be appropriate to present them as real.

Dr Shugahara nodded and began to speak with a barely contained excitement and enthusiasm

- Remember that for many people those stories are real. As I say, some people may accept the rational evidence, but that is not enough. I sought help from the other members of the Society of primates. Soon we will meet. Unlike the people at the hard sciences, we are nearer common people and know their most basic beliefs. We must speak to every culture, every human group. But we must speak to them in their own terms and concepts and build on their legends and existing knowledge of nature, to prepare them for the revelations to come.

Professor Sripathi began to feel infected by the exuberant excitement of Kenji.

- And all this, to speak to humanity of our new relationship with the gods and demons. We will tell them that there are real gods and demons to whom we can talk and cooperate. But I shudder at the mere possibility that is real, although I have seen it.

- Then the challenge will be greater

- Dr Shugahara, you scare me!

- But. Will you help me? - He corrected himself quickly -Will you help us?

- I already have told you before, you have given me the opportunity to be part of a legend. I will not miss it. But I am worried, your plan to manipulate legends, reminds me about the NWO conspiracies.

- NWO?, what it that?

- NWO, "The new world order" -Sripathi smiled. - Seems you are not aware of conspiracy theories. Some people believe that there are secret groups manipulating governments in a hidden way to create a world government.

- Are there really people who believe that? Interesting. I was thinking what kind of myths we could use for people in the occidental countries. Please tell me more of these "theories".

- Dr Shugahara, I'm not sure I want to know what you're thinking.

-Think about it, we would not be lying, we are talking about real gods, and especially, about real magic.

Professor Sripathi went silent. He had not expected to go that far. Suddenly a voice behind them distracted. It was Somasindhu, the young Hindu spoke, struggling to convey his thoughts in his heavy accented English.

- I trust the doctor Shugahara, no matter what he wants to do, I will help him.

Shugahara inclined his head toward the young Hindu, as sign of respect and said:

- So, will you help me in this great conspiracy to teach the truth to mankind.

Infected with his enthusiasm both men simply answered - Yes.

* * *

End of Chapter XXV

Notes:

**Primates**: See chapter 8. This is the society founded by Dr Shugahara and other colleagues to bring cheap medicines to people on remote or poor places.


	26. Chapter 26:  Conflicts

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

B_y Javier Delgado aka Elnauhual_

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XXVI

**Conflicts**

Keiichi looked a bit bewildered as the technicians unloaded what looked like a small fridge from the van and took it to the main hall at the temple. The young man knew very well it was not a refrigerator but something much more special.

After a brief discussion, the technicians found a place that seemed appropriate and proceeded to unpack the equipment. At the same time, there was another team working on the data and electrical wiring. Soon from the plastic foam packaging emerged a black metal cabinet with ventilation slots, which did not seem to do justice to what was inside of it.

Dr Izuka Kawazu a specialist in neural nets, smiled at Keiichi´s expression. As a student he would have given anything to have such equipment, especially as it was going to replace the old machine Keiichi had built with spare parts from discarded equipment. The specifications were quite impressive: an 64-core processor, 512 GB of RAM, an array of hard drives for up to 50 TB and the latest generation High performance graphics card, plus some other components of the same quality.

- I hope this will suffice your needs - he said in jest - He knew the young man would have never dreamed to have something similar at home - of course, it is not exactly quiet so we'll leave it here and cable the monitor and everything else to your room. This equipment was going to be installed at the Chiba University Labs, but after the explosion they are being rebuilt so nobody will miss this for a while. We will also installed fiber optic connections to connect the computer directly to the grid.

Keiichi scratched his head. He was trying to assimilate what was happening.

- The grid?. Ah!, I think it has something to do with CERN, doesn't it?

Exactly, the grid is a system that allows the main scientific centers of the world to share computing power and storage capacity so the work they need to be done can be carried out by many machines across the planet.

- I thought that CERN had the fastest computer in the world, why would they need to use other computers?

- They had, but currently the fastest is the K system here in Japan, yet the Illinois Urbana campus in the U.S. is about to overcome them, and after that, the K II under construction also here in Japan will be even faster. It´s a technological war but it´s a good one. Thanks to the grid we can have all that power at our disposal plus thousand of other computers around the world, all able to work together.

Keiichi gasped in awe. - Izuka-san, are you telling me that I will have access to the fastest computer systems in the world?

- Fascinating isn't it!, of course is not so simple because there are priorities, but after talking with Dr. Shugahara I thought we needed to prepare for whatever your friend may need.

- My friend?

- The alien software running in your old machine, I thinks it´s called **ADX-654**. Dr Shugahara explained to me this could be one of the most complex pieces of software that ever existed, but it not only seems to be damaged but also crippled itself in order to run on your machine. Curiosity is killing me! How can software from another universe run on that old computer? How did it adjust to unknown hardware? Can we understand and fix it?. I have another thousand questions in mind.

Keiichi was overwhelmed by the man's enthusiasm and felt a little embarrassed. He was a fairly good engineer, yet his curiosity was nothing like his, but there was something else that intrigued him.

- It looks as if you were not really surprised by the software's origin, did Skuld said something to you?

- Did she tell me she was a goddess?. No, but in a way it was unnecessary. After I discovered her ability to understand, design and build equipment practically from nothing and with the simplest tools I was ready to accept almost the wildest explanation. I was already calling it magic. After seeing her at work and studying her creations, if she had said she was alien, I would have accepted it. To know she is a being from a civilization so advanced that their technology looks like magic, it's just asking a bit more. Especially after having the opportunity to study her androids.

Keiichi looked surprised at the man, Skuld had hardly tolerated his offers to help her with Bampei and Siegel.

- Skuld was very jealous about them. How is it that she allowed you to study them?

- She was also very proud of them, so she let us keep a copy of their software. - Dr Izuka took a USB memory stick from his pocket. - We have learned a lot from it and it's fascinating.

- You have a copy of their software? Did you know they were destroyed? Skuld has been grieving for them, she almost considered them living things so maybe with that copy she can rebuild them. She will be very happy to know about this.

- I'll do anything to help her. Over the last months I've known that girl, I've learned to appreciate her.

Keiichi smiled at his statement and asked puzzled:

- Kawazu-san, I knew you had been working with Skuld, but I never imagined you had been able to get to so close to her, she is a very difficult girl.

Dr Kawazu just laughed at Keiichi´s words.

- I have no doubt she is a difficult girl, but it is only because she knows few people whom share her enthusiasm. She has a natural talent, but has the problems of being self-taught, so thought we could share with her some of our knowledge and thus earn her respect.

- What kind of knowledge?

- Like all self-taught people, she jumps to conclusions too quickly and tends to forget the most basic elements on their designs. She needs some self discipline, but I think that you can also teach her. Do you have an engineering degree?

- Yeah, I just finished my studies, because of a mistake with my language credits I had to stay longer at Nekomi Tech.

- Skuld boasted to us about your designs, you should be good enough to impress her.

- Skuld did that? She had never shown much respect for me.

- She is a very proud young girl and will not say it to you, and also you are her sister´s boy friend, but I think you can guide her, you just need to understand her.

Keiichi was silent a moment. The last thing he had expected was to receive counseling in human relations from an expert in neural nets, so he decided to change the subject.

- What are you going to do after **ADX-654 **is transferred to the new machine? I am not a specialist in computing, but I think we could extract the functions library from Siegel's software and try to use them as a replacement for the damage functions. If it works it will improve our communication capability. Siegel could talk almost as well as a Human!

The scientist smiled contentedly at Keiichi´s words.

- Excellent, that's exactly what I was thinking. We have already managed to detect the I/O functions, even if we cannot understand then fully, we can treat them as black boxes. Even if it does not work, we can learn. Now I wish much to see it working. Above all, I still cannot understand you can work on that old system you have in your room.

Keiichi laughed trying to hide his embarrassment. With the cost of maintaining the temple plus some extra necessities, he had been unable to build something more powerful, then looked nervously at his watch, the morning had gone faster than expected.

- It's almost time to communicate with Belldandy, Skuld and Urd. I think it will take some time before they finish this so meanwhile, would you like to see how it works? We just need to wait for Dr Shugahara and Sentaro-kun. They also want to communicate.

Are you kidding? You are talking about some kind of interdimensional communication system. I would not miss that opportunity for anything in the world.

* * *

An old man walked slowly under the scorching rays of the midday sun. He felt his dry lips with his tongue and hurried towards the center of the ramshackle town square. There next to the old water well was a new water tap. With some difficulty, he bent under it and let out some water. He could not help but feel some guilt when he spilled some water, even if he knew it was no longer critical. He looked at the old well, and remembered when he had to use it, praying that it still had water. He suppressed his guilty feelings and drank enough water, then straightened. He looked around and felt lucky. Despite his 60 years, he remained in good health, retained most of his teeth and could say that famines were things of the past.

With a long sigh he looked around. There were very few people around. He missed the time when the place was full of tourists who come to see the ancient Roman ruins that echoed the old times when that place had been important. Those tourists had been an important source of income for the village, but the unrest of recent years had driven away the tourists and due to the lack of work many young men had left the village. That was the reason why there was a sense of lonesomeness in the village as it was inhabited mostly by women, children and the elderly.

And yet, he knew they had been lucky. For some reason his town had been free of the riots and rebellions that had plagued other villages. It was like someone had protected them. Perhaps the story that one of the young men had become important was true.

Suddenly he heard the noise of engines in the distance and felt restless. The tour buses were now rare and those were modern and very silent. The noise he heard was very different, they were heavy trucks running at full speed. On the horizon of the semi-desert terrain, he was now able to discern a cloud of dust, apparently from vehicles moving at high speed. He didn't like it so he began to shout to alarm the people. Soon, some doors opened revealing frightened faces. Then they heard a noise that brought fear to their hearts. The firing sound of semi-automatic weapons brought by the wind

* * *

Hild was on her throne, her face did not show the smile she used as a mask, instead it showed concern. She was almost completely surrounded by data screens dissecting and analyzing each one of the aspects of her world. Many of them showed images of chaos, but at least the orgy of destruction was over. Everywhere groups of demons undertook repair and reconstruction works. Slowly the alarms were becoming silent.

She reviewed the information and gave some orders to correct urgent problems, then closed her eyes and allowed herself to lean against the back of her throne. She let a sigh of relief escape. Marler had been outstanding as Druhting and had worked efficiently together with her young new allies. She had to admit to herself, that she, the powerful Daimakaicho may have been unable cope with this alone. She uttered a word of power and concentrated on feeling the emotions of the demonkind of her world.

She felt a chill at realizing that almost a quarter of its inhabitants had fallen victims to this insanity and had to be sealed, at this rate, her world would begin to collapse unable to keep itself running. But despite the destruction, she never had felt such approval at her actions as she felt now. After exercising power alone for eons, it was a strange feeling to realize that this approval was actually the work of others.

An alarm called her attention that someone wanted to be transported to the throne room. She recognized the signature and approved.

Marler appeared at the center of the room. The proud look on her face made it almost impossible to recognize the old Marler. But for a brief moment an expression of pain came in, yet it was quickly suppressed. As she approached Hild a deep burn was visible on her leg and it was obvious she was trying to hide a slight limp. Hild smiled. She had witnessed how she had received that wound, yet she had not failed in her duty for a second.

As she approached, Marler gave a quick look at the screens. Hild should have seen everything so a full report was unnecessary; a quick review would suffice. That was fortunate as the pain in her leg was increasing.

- Milady Hild. The situation is still critical, but we managed to contain most of the problems. I've posted guards to protect all the critical spots. We have recruited all able demons to form teams in order to repair the damaged infrastructure, but we will not attempt to repair damaged buildings yet, we do not want to divert resources, especially as we cannot predict when someone will be struck by the madness. Fortunately they are now appearing in small groups that are easier to deal.

Hild nodded in approval and asked

- I see you've organized the armed forces in triplets. Why ?

- The madness can strike at any time, we have no way of knowing who will be attacked. Walharen created an interlocking spell, so if the mind of one of the triplet changes, its detected immediately so that his two companions can overpower him and seal him. Fortunately there hasn't been a case where two soldiers are infected simultaneously.

Hild nodded and said:

- You have done an excellent job. - Marler swallowed but did not dare say anything for fear that emotion would make her voice tremble. Getting so stern a compliment from Hild was something extraordinary. Hild observed her reaction and smiled, then continued - Now go to get healed. You are the best Druhting I have ever had, and I do not want to lose you.

Marler was surprised at her words but could only say.

- Thank you milady. - She bit her lip to endure the pain a bit more, there was something else. - Has Urd managed to find something?

- While she hasn't found a cure, so far she has done more than I expected. Somehow she has managed to convince all the scholars to work together with her and without even threatening anyone. - She added with pride- She is my daughter and I'm sure she will find the solution.

* * *

Urd watched as the last demon disappeared. Then, screamed in frustration. She had been struggling to contain herself, and was about to explode. She looked at the wall of her room where there were multiple small burns, raised a hand that began to emit a dangerous glow. Suddenly she heard a friendly voice behind her.

- Little Princess, I would not recommend doing that. You will activate all the alarms in the palace, your power is much bigger than when you were just a little brat.

Urd froze in surprise at the voice that spoke to her with such familiarity, and turned slowly. While it was a somewhat throaty voice, it had an aristocratic touch. She opened her mouth in surprise as she recognized the speaker.

- Bragg!, Is it really you?

- Yes my little princess. I hope you do not mind if I call you that, but I can hardly see you in a different way.

- I had no idea that ... You were a.

She looked embarrassed at the rough figure of the guard that was able to articulate words with surprising tenderness.

- Yes, I was once a normal demon. Being part of the personal guard of the great Daimakaicho is a great honor for us and for our families no matter the cost. That includes the loyalty spell you canceled with that potion . It did not allow us to think of anything other than our duty. And of course the spells that give us strengths, capabilities and powers greater than any common demon.

- I did not expect something like that, if you want to get your old body I could also...

- Then I will cease to be useful and would no longer be able to protect you. But I could suggest that Hild should not find out about the loyalty spell, she may not like the idea that I am more loyal to my little Princess than to her.

Urd was deeply moved, that manly voice was rough yet gentle, and began to wonder how he had been before being transformed. But Bragg interrupted her musings.

- If you want to vent your frustration, I suggest going to the guard training camp, there you will find many ways to vent your anger, you can even use your favorite demon effigies as targets.

Urd could not help laughing. Bragg seemed to know her too well.

- Thanks, it sounds fun, but I prefer not to walk down the halls at this time, I think I have upset a lot of demons lately.

- There is no need to use the corridors- replied the demon, who raised a hand and cast a spell at the nearby wall. The wall disappeared and behind it appeared a long tunnel that penetrated deep into the rock.

- A passage from my room? And I thought I knew all its secrets.

- There are things that only the guards know. There is a unique system for us, now if want to go to training camp.

Urd sighed, she still had much to learn from her own world.

- Thanks Bragg, I'd like to go, but I have much work ahead, I'd rather have drink.

- Do I serve you some tea?

- No, I would prefer something stronger, we must have Sake somewhere...

* * *

Lind had just record and send the message crystals, when she felt an unusual activity in the room. She had hid and encrypted the access to consoles, but even so, a screen was materializing before her. An image began to form, but it was very fuzzy, only a silhouette, she was surprised when she heard a familiar voice

- Lind, Is it you? I can barely see you. There is a lot of interference.

It was Keiichi´s voice!

- Keiichi, How did you reach me here? I protected and encrypted the access myself.

- No matter how I did it. Lind, I'm desperate. I cannot contact Belldandy. Is she OK? What happened to her?

Lind did not answer. She could not speak openly, but she could not lie to this young man whom she considered her friend.

- Belldandy is among the healers. I do not know the reason you cannot contact her, but she has not received any damage.

- But she did not answer me - replied vehemently Keiichi. I saw her image, but she ignored me completely. What is happening?

- I do not know, but she is not in danger. Instead I have something very important to communicate. I still have no proof, but I think the madness is transmitted through the energy provide to us by Yggdrasil.

- How! That would mean Yggdrasil itself is infected. Urd once told us that is impossible.

- I have no evidence yet, but I ordered all the Valkyries to keep using only the bracelets as an energy source, but eventually we will run out of them.

- Do you need more bracelets? How many more?

- As much as your world can provide. If my suspicions are true, we're not just talking about my squad, but of all the inhabitants of our world ...

- All people in heaven? - Keiichi exclaimed in amazement, then scratched his head and shyly remarked - Eh, eight million gods?

- That is a good approximation, but how did you know it - asked Lind intrigued.

- It's just an old tradition of my people that says there are eight million **kami** in heaven...

-Well, that is exactly the amount we need. Do you think you can get them? The energy of those bracelets' comes from your universe so it´s not contaminated, it may be our salvation.

Keiichi kept thinking. So far the process in the laboratory had been almost like a hand made craft, but his engineering mind soon began to think of how to transform it into an industrial manufacturing process. There should by a similar process in the ceramic industry. After a few seconds he answered:

-We will deliver. We need some time to prepare everything, maybe in a week we can begin to deliver them. There are a lot of people I need to convince first.

-Very well, I will send Chrono for them when they are ready, that's the best way you have to help Belldandy. You should also communicate this to Urd. I think she will need them too.

But Keiichi was not satisfied with that.

- Lind, please, I feel there is something else you are avoiding me,

- Keiichi, please do not ask now and prepare those bracelets. I swore to protect Belldandy even at the cost of my own life and I will. Trust me.

Keiichi felt anguish, Lind´s vehemence was strange, yet he trusted her.

-Lind, I trust you. I will do what you ask. Please protect Belldandy.

Lind heard other voices, but could not understand them, it appeared as if Keiichi was talking to somebody else, eventually he returned to talk to her.

- A few moments ago we talked with Skuld. She was very optimistic about restoring Yggdrasil's full functions now that the central node is no longer under attack, but, maybe is dangerous for her if Yggdrasil really is infected ?.

- We will have to take risks, but I will ask to her to take precautions and wear a bracelet too.

- Then we will do everything possible to get you the bracelets.

Keiichi's voice reflected concern despite Lind´s promise, who for the first time in her life, felt doubts of the outcome of her actions:

-Keiichi, I will contact you in week of earth time. Then we will be able to talk.

She heard an unintelligible reply and the screen disappeared. Lind breathed slowly, now she could not turn back. She began her concentration exercises for preparation for battle, even if it would be a completely different from every battle she had been in. Now, she stood still, with her eyes closed. Her face was serene, as it had been every time she had faced death. Then opened her eyes, she had an appointment to meet and should be prepared to answer many questions.

* * *

At CERN, the director was at his office lost in his thoughts. He had just read the file sent by Dr. Hervieux to what appeared to be a terrorist cell. The file, as all of Hervieux work, was a model of precision. It not only summarized what had happened, but it was almost an open invitation to take over Miss Rosenthal.

He looked out the window and shuddered. He saw great buildings among extensive gardens full with of open spaces, a university like environment and minimal security. CERN could hardly be called a place of high security. Miss Rosenthal was not only in danger there but other people also could be hurt, besides damage to valuable equipment. This was something that he had not foreseen and was beyond his competence.

The untimely phone ringing almost made him jump. He had given instructions not to be disturbed except for an emergency, so that call should be one.

- Hello - he replied anxiously.

- Chief, this is Jean speaking, I have bad news.

- Ah ha!. More bad news!

- I'm afraid so. I was checking the sites Dr Hervieux used to visit, most are pretty boring, but there is a Blog that caught my attention. It´s full of news about his hometown.

- I did not think he still kept in contact with them. What does that have to do with us?

- There has been a rebel attack at the town, several civilians were killed and the town remains under rebel control, but there have been no claims by the rebels on why they attacked such a forgotten place.

- I will have to tell the Dr Hervieux about that, but that's not all, right?

- No, the Keyloger we installed in his computer collected multiple passwords. One of them is for the Blog, so I entered and found a post addressed to him.

- A message?

- The message says: "_You cannot leave the group, remember your family, wait for instructions"_

The director felt a chill. Dr. Hervieux had confessed many things, but not all. Yet enough to understand what was happening. If he did not help the group to get what they wanted, his family would suffer. A cold sweat came over him. Lives depended on his decisions. Nothing had prepared him for this.

- Please try to find out what kind of messages Dr Hervieux sent to this group. - He nervously breathed before continuing- Then send a message pretending to be Hervieux, requesting instructions. And please do not let anyone know about this. There are lives at risk.

- No boss, no one will know, I will let you know if I receive an answer.

He hung up the phone, then called his secretary.

- Please locate Sergeant Philiphe Valois and ask him to come to my office, it is urgent. Also call Dr Shugahara Kenji. I do not care what time it is in his country, it is very urgent that I talk to him and it must be through a secure circuit.

He hung up the phone, he leaned against the back of his seat and then remembered something. He started looking into the drawers of his desk, he was sure that it should be somewhere between those papers... Finally found a small metallic bottle of liquor, opened it, took a sip and immediately closed it again. He had to dose it, He knew he would need it later.

* * *

Professor Dr Srivapati was amused as he watched an absorbed Dr Shugahara as he was leafing through a pile of books he had just bought and had suggestive titles such as "The enigma of the Templars knights", "Illuminati: The Cult That Hijacked the World", " New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies" and many similar ones.

Over and over, he emitted grunts of indignation as he found an offensive part, then he used a marker to highlight the section, after that he consulted his computer and then wrote down the results into a database. Srivapati had a hard time trying to avoid bursting into laughter. Absorbed in his work he was so different from the man that tried to represent the epitome of Japanese sobriety. Suddenly Kenji stopped noticing he was observed.

- Sorry, I'm not used to having guests, I'm being rude, is there anything you need?

- No, please I do not want to interrupt you. I could not sleep and noticed you were working, so I came to see if I can help you. Seems you have found the subject very interesting.

Shugahara laughed merrily as he realized what he had been doing.

- I confess I did not expect that Westerners would have so rich imagination, but I wish these writers tried a bit harder to put their bibliographic references right. Still, there are some real elements behind it.

Srivapati rose an eyebrow and remarked with mock surprise.

- Don't tell me you believe in all that crap?

- I did not mean that- replied Shugahara with a big smile - but if you think about it, all these are just modern myths, and often myths are built on facts. There are some events that would involve too many coincidences to be by merely chance.

- So do you think that the Illuminati really exist?

- No, not at all, but it seems as if someone wants us to believe they are.

- Are you sure? - this time Srivapati´s surprise was real - That sounds like another conspiracy theory.

- I was reviewing the evidence presented in many of these books, I found a lot of errors and false references, so initially I assumed they were simply made by inept people. But in a second reading, found that even if the facts are wrong, these books had a complex cross reference between them that is consistent enough to pass as real. It's as if someone wished to hide the real story behind a wall of literary noise.

- but why should someone do that?.

- Do you know the history of the Byzantine Empire? For almost a thousand years Byzantium was like a dam that protected the nascent European reigns from Middle Eastern powers: Arabian, Turks, Moguls. If it had fallen at that time, possibly Europe today would be Muslim and several times the empire became so weak that the city was besieged and about to fall. During the first siege of Byzantium, a man suddenly appeared with a special formula that was called marine fire or fire of war because it was a liquid that caught fire on contact with water and allowed them to burn the enemy fleet. That mysterious man not only saved the Byzantine empire but all Europe, and yet we know nothing about him. And it´s not the only case. Long time ago, while researching the roots of European myths I realized that there are historic situations where knowledge suddenly appeared that changed the course of history. Most of the time the course of history can be explained by social and economic forces and not due to actions of individuals. But sometimes some men or women have changed the course of events. I know that because Urd once changed the outcome of an important battle with just one potion, yet it seems as if she was not the only one that has done it.

- Are you sure? Is there really such a pattern? Human history is so full of disasters.

- I'm sure there's something, maybe a group that has been trying to interfere with history, but they have not always succeeded. As you say, there have been disasters and I suspect some of them were man made.

- And that group ... Do you think they are behind the myth of the Illuminati? - Srivapati began to feel a sense of wonder, as the time Shugahara had told him about Hild´s tears. If that had been true, this also could be true. Shugahara´s enthusiasm was contagious.

- The real Illuminati only existed for about twenty years. I consider it unbelievable that such a short lived group has managed to create so many myths. I think those myths have been fabricated. And that was done with a purpose.

- Do you have any idea who it might be?. But above all, you told me they introduced new knowledge to humanity. Where did that knowledge come from?

- I do not know who it might be, but do you remember what I told you about the marine fire? I know where that formula came: it´s one of the formulas from Urd´s manuscript!.

Suddenly Shugahara´s cell phone made a sound, it was a text message. The doctor read it and comment intrigued.

- It´s a message from CERN´s director. He is asking for an urgent video conference over a secure circuit.

- Can you do it from here?

- No, here I only have a standard Internet connection. We must use CERNS´s grid. We could go to Chiba university, but maybe it would be better to use the new connection at the Tarikihongan temple. I have the feeling that this is something Keiichi and Ghadril should know. Please also wake up Somasindu, this may concern us all.

* * *

Lind materialized out in the middle of a rocky valley, where one of the walls was filled with craters of all sizes. She calmly waited. A few moments later other Valkyries materialized besides her. All of them were proud women of the highest rank. They were the heads of the Valkyrie. Lind greeted them and made a signal to be silent. Then she turned around to face the wall filled with craters and chanted a coded spell. A cave entrance appeared.

The Valkyries looked puzzled at it, but said nothing, at Lind´s signal they entered. Lind was the last one and the entrance disappeared behind her without trace.

Inside, one of them commented.

- Strange place for a secret meeting. Where are we? I detect very powerful magic blockages that protect this place, but this looks like nothing from our world, instead it is similar to Hell.

- Yes, this was Urd´s secret place, here she kept some things she brought from her realm. Please do not touch anything, some of them are still active and can be a nuisance.

Another Valkyrie commented as she looked around.

- I remember we talked about it, for many years we suspect the existence of this place, but could never locate it. why?

Lind replied:

- Urd used to practice her powers in the valley, so she continually set of the alarms, we had to lower the sensitivity of the sensors. That allowed this place to go undetected and that is why I chose this place. That will protect us.

- Protect? - Asked the first Valkyrie - Protect from what?

Lind looked at her companions. They were nominally all equal in rank, but she had seniority and that gave her authority, then made a formal greeting.

- Shall courage and wisdom illuminate the way of the Valkyries.

That was the ritual greeting for starting a war council. Without thinking they took positions as the ritual demanded. Lind began to speak formally.

- Oth, Rota, Alruna, Eir and Herja. In my authority as the head of the supreme council of the sisterhood of the Valkyries. I have requested this meeting to discuss the possible implementation of the Ragna protocol.

A surprised cry emerged from the five Valkyries s they lost they demeanor. Their faces reflected disbelief and fear. Herja was the first to react.

- To remove the current Kami-sama under the charge of treason or madness!. That protocol has never been used. Lind!. You swore allegiance to Belldandy-sama and she even offered to you something no Kami-sama had offered before. Friendship. What kind of treachery is this? I cannot believe you are the one asking for this!

Lind answered unperturbed.

- Let's continue with the formalities of the protocol. Herja, you're the next in seniority. You'll be my judge. I will present my case.

Herja stepped forward and replied:

- Lind. You have invoked this protocol and you know the consequences. We will hear you, if you present compelling proof we will proceed but otherwise, the protocol dictates that you will be demoted under our authority, executed immediately and your name will be erased from all our records, no matter how glorious your actions had been, so the sisterhood of the Valkyrie will stay free from all stain. Are you willing to continue?

- I am willing- Lind replied without blinking, then bowed her head to Herja and declared - And I set you free of any guilt if my actions bring death upon me.

Herja step back and Lind advanced to at the center of the circle formed by her companions. They extended their arms to close the circle. Lind was now considered a potential traitor, so they should create a magic circle to neutralize her magic and leave her powerless before they would hear her testimony. . Lind stayed calm. She had faced death before. Her companions began a chant. This was not only a magical chant, but also a funeral lament in anticipation for her possible death. It was a sad and heartbreaking song, the song for a fallen companion. Lind observed as the magical barrier slowly emerged and felt how her powers began to decrease.

Suddenly a loud and strange laughter was heard. They interrupted the chant and looked at the entry. Herja cried:

- Kamisama!

Belldandy's face was unrecognizable, in her eyes there was no trace of her former sweetness, instead they seemed to glow with a fire of hate, her clothes were constantly moving as if her magic element, the wind, were out of control, then she spoke with a thunderous voice.

- Lind, So this is what you were doing? Conspiring against me? Do you envy me so much? - She looked at the other Valkyries- How do you dare to hear her words?. You owe obedience only to me.

Lind interrupt her.

- They are here at my call. They bear no responsibility for this If I am found guilty, they will execute me.

- Execute you? That sound fun. It is a very good form of discipline. - She let out another laugh, then calmed down and spoke -Lind, I almost fall into your trap. After I arrived with the healers quarter, I began to work with them treating the wounded and the insane. But I noticed my power was diminishing and knew that was what exactly what you wished for: that I lose power!. Then I found the old Kami-sama was also there. He still lives but he will not last long. You know? I realized that if I wished, I could heal him. But I would lose most of my power and then I would not be Kamisama anymore. That would be so sad. It feels great to have all this power. Power to raise our peoples will, power to resurface in all our glory and power to be able to crush our enemies.

The Valkyries heard Belldandy in disbelief. They could not recognize in her the goddess legendary for her kindness. Lind took advantage of their confusion, she casted a powerful spell that managed to break the incomplete magic circle. Another goddess would have been trapped, but she was still the most powerful of the Valkyries. Her companions were cast aside by the force of the spell.

Belldandy smiled delighted at her display of power and raised her hands, as if preparing for a fight. Lind walked slowly to stand in front of her. But she made no gesture of defense or attack, instead looked into Belldandy´s eyes and calmly asked:

- Who are you?

* * *

**End of chapter XXVI**

Notes:

**Marine fire or fire of war** is the name given by the Byzantines, but it´s better known in west as Greek Fire. Here I took some liberties with history, the siege of Constantinople was before the battle of King Godfred against Charlemagne. (See chapter II)

**ADX-654: **It´s the _Predictive Defense Program adx-654 v2.03.05_ software. In case you forgot where it came from, check chapter IX- Core War******.**  


******Dr Izuka Kawazu: **He was mentioned first in chapter 4- Potions and chemistry and apeared in Chapter VIII Primates and love******  
**


	27. Chapter 27:  Galileo II

_Like all authors of Fanfics, I live from your comments._

_Please comment, criticize, or at least say hello ..._

**___My best wishes for Zoro50 who has help me to transform my Spanglish into proper English..._**

**___Any remaining mistakes, are still mine.  
_**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

_By Javier Delgado aka Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXVII -rev4

**Galileo**

Jean Valois walked down along the aisle at one of the buildings at CERN. He had just had a meeting with the director and had left his office full of doubts; some of them beyond the present situation. He looked around him and for the first time since he had arrived, he felt completely out-of-place.

When his contractor had assigned him here, his had mission seemed to be an extremely easy one. After they had provided him with details about the present situation, he had not expected any complications, and as usual, he had stayed away from all that was happening outside his job. In the years he had been working as a bodyguard had never cared much about what the people really did, his job was to protect them, no matter what they did. But now it was different. While most of what he had seen in the last days was incomprehensible to him, it was impossible not to notice that something was brewing that could change the whole of humanity.

He stopped in the middle of the aisle, annoying some people that were walking behind him. He remembered the young idealist who had joined the army, dreaming of making a difference and how those dreams had disappeared at being confronted by the realities of war. His brief military career had been cut short by a bullet in Afghanistan. After a seemingly long recovery he, disenchanted, had accepted a bodyguard job, with a pragmatism that would have disgusted the former young idealist. Now it was as if that young idealist wished to come back, but would even that dreamer accept the plan submitted to him by those civilians? . He had to be really crazy: Magic against bullets?

Then he saw Dr Hervieux walking in the opposite direction, and felt a deep anger that he barely tried to conceal. He knew Hervieux had been called by the director, so he soon would learn that his actions had really endangered his own family. The two men crossed without a word, Hervieux attempted to ignore him; Valois instead stared at him with accusing eyes until he lost him out of sight as he lost sight of him walking down the hall. It was impossible for Hervieux not to take notice, but he did not show any reaction. Valois then uttered a clearly audible curse at him. Due to his actions, Mademoiselle Rosenthal was being targeted by a terrorist cell that threatened to kill their hostages if they fail to kidnap her. While he would never accept his feelings, he felt some satisfaction thinking on the news Hervieux was about to face.

After a moment, he continued his walk and finally arrived at the main library where Mademoiselle Rosenthal was happily discussing some arcane technical matters with other young postgraduates. In the relative silence of the library their words came clearly to him, but their talk was completely incomprehensible to him so for a moment he simply stood watching. It seemed incredible that this fragile-looking young woman had developed knowledge that could be momentous; everyone here seemed to be very excited about her work.

The peaceful scene brought to him a deep felling of frustration and he cursed again, everything seemed to be out of control. CERN´s director had asked him not to report anything to any authority. He did not like the idea, but he could not offer a better alternative. After his experience with extremists in Afghanistan, he knew an armed intervention would hardly save the hostages, especially if the local government adopted the policy of not negotiating with terrorists.

Jenny then caught sight of him and greeted him cheerfully. Sergeant Valois smiled in return, then grinned at noticing that she had put some makeup on as he had suggested to her. That slight touch had done wonders on her, at least to his eyes. Then he examined the other young scientists around her, and remembered she was not an ordinary girl, he still could hear clearly in his mind the words from that old Japanese, Professor Nambu: - "She is my most talented post-grad student. I bet in ten years she will be one of the major figures on physics. Her discovery and the work she had done about it will accomplish her a Nobel Laureate in twenty years, not to mention that all this could radically change our entire civilization. We have a great responsibility in taking care of her "

He walked toward her, then gulped and was about to utter a new curse but refrained due the presence of the girl. He had just realized the words of that old Japanese now made him to feel nervous at her presence. He looked back to her, breathed deeply and made a decision. He would commit to the crazy plan from the other Japanese, Dr Shugahara. After all he was right at saying that the only way to protect her was to eliminate the threat hanging over her. The plan involved risking his own life, but maybe this was his chance to make a difference as he had dreamed once. Without another thought he took a solemn expression, and spoke.

-Mademoiselle Rosenthal, I am sorry to interrupt you, but there are some important issues about your security. The Director asked for your presence to explain everything.

Jenny looked at his usually jovial face and knew it had to be very important. She was aware of Dr Hervieux actions so she could guess it had to be related, quickly said goodbye to her young colleagues and followed Valois.

Outside the hall, Valois commented to her with concern.

- Why were you talking about your work with those people? Isn't it dangerous? If I understand what's going on, the details should be kept secret.

Jenny laughed merrily, but realizing his serious expression she stopped, stared directly to his eyes and with a seriousness that seemed out-of-place in someone so young she said.

- This is science; there is nothing more contrary to the spirit of the science than secrets. I know for now we must be outwardly discreet, but eventually everything must be revealed before the eyes of the world. I know that my life may be in danger, and that is why it´s even more important to be completely open to my colleagues, if something happens to me, they must know and understand all that I know so they can continue.

Valois shuddered at those words and the passion reflected in those young eyes. He had seen that look before protecting other VIPs". He knew that moment that Nambu was right, in ten years that passion would lead her to pathways that he could not even imagine. For a few seconds he just froze staring at her, then tried to regain his composure and spoke with conviction.

- Mademoiselle Rosenthal, I will take care nothing would endanger your life. That´s a promise.

Jenny looked at his expression with intense curiosity as she assimilated his words, suddenly her face lit up with an understanding smile. She extended her arm and took his rough hand into hers and softly said.

- Please, just call me Jenny.

* * *

Keiichi´s room was crowded, besides him; there were Shugahara, Somasindu, Professor Sripathi and Ghadril. They all were sitting at the floor around a computer monitor in low desk. The video conference with CERN´s director had ended some time ago but the discussion still continued. A surprisingly vehement Keiichi tried to convince Shugahara.

- I should go with you. It is true that Urd´s medallions can protect us, but Urd explained to us that they developed so much power because they were reinforced with the others' proximity. After all, she designed them to protect her followers against IX century weapons. To give us a decent protection, at least two must work together and you cannot take Sentaro with you. It would be too dangerous, he´s just a child.

- Keiichi, I'll have to take the risk, you must stay here. Remember what Lind said. It is vital to have these bracelets ready as soon as possible or the madness will continue expanding in Hell and Heaven. Lives from two universes depend on you. The plan you have developed is perfect; to seize an existing commercial ceramic product factory and just modifying part of the manufacturing process is a demonstration of your talent. You are needed here. Prof. Sripathi will contact the "Primates organization", they will help you to get the resources needed and the royalties from my patents can give also give some support. Also to be back up by the CERN and Chiba institutes also will also help, but only you have the knowledge to carry it out.

Keiichi was silent, he had to recognize that Kenji was right, but he was still very concerned.

-I understand, but if at least you could go with Ghadril.

-Ghadril has another role to play and it's vital. We all agreed to this plan and must follow it.

Ghadril interrupted them.

- Shugahara-san, From what I've learned about human weapons, you will not have enough protection with just a medallion and Keiichi must stay, so the only alternative is to take Sentaro-kun along you. At the battle against Anang Reng you had luck because the three medallions worked in unison. If you have not at least two medallions working in sync, you would be running an unnecessary risk.

Shugahara replied indignantly.

- Sentaro-kun is only a child; I cannot put his life at risk.

Ghadril replied with dignity. - Shugahara-san, I have to remind you: That child is now one of the great judges and you yourself have recognized him as an equal as member of the Order of the Mortal Knights. I have seen his courage. Despite being so young he has a right to be with you.

Ghadril had spoken with the dignity of a goddess and her opinion could not be ignored. He knew she right, yet the idea of involving a child in something so dangerous was difficult to accept. He stayed silent trying to think for an alternative, but eventually said to Ghadril.

- Ghadril, seems you know Sentaro-kun heart better than me. I accept your words, but we'll have to talk to his parents and explain them everything. I'm not sure about their reaction, but we must accept their decision.

Ghadril proudly replied.

- I'm sure they will understand; they will listen to a goddess.

All remained silent for a while, Ghadril was determined on this issue so there was no more to say, finally Shugahara spoke.

- Then, at dawn we will talk with Sentaro´s parents, after that Ghadril will depart immediately, we will travel the next day.

Srivapati intervened smiling.

- Now we only need to locate a ceramic products' factory, negotiate with them, modify their product line, and then manufacture at least twelve million bracelets. I'm just a doctor and I have no idea how you intend to do that in just six days.

Keiichi laughed

- That would have been an almost impossible task, but now that we have transferred ADX-654 to its new home, I am very optimistic. Is that right adx-654?

Suddenly a pleasant and deep voice was heard. It was polite to the point of being impersonal.

-Yes Keiichi-san! The new routines allow me to communicate better, and this new hardware has many more capabilities, so I managed to unpack some extra routines that give me greater cognitive capacity to respond. Also I have been accessing your information networks and learned much more about your culture so I can better understand your concepts; yet this is not enough to unpack my full resources.

Shugahara was amazed at the change produced by the new hardware. Then he realized something strange. Ghadril's usually serene face had changed; he almost could say it was fear. This was not the first time he sensed something strange about adx-654 and the goddess's reaction proved it.

- Ghadril is there something wrong?

- This software... I think it is self conscious! It must be terminated immediately!

Ghadril suddenly advanced, with an elegant gesture she materialized her battle-ax and cried.

- I have to ask you to step back or I could hurt you by accident, I must destroy this artificial conscious before it develops completely.

Keiichi barely reacted and he put himself between her and the computer monitor.

- Stop it!, what's happening? If you destroy it, we may not be able to help your world; we owe a lot to this program. - Ghadril reacted to his words, she looked confused. She had orders issued to her long time ago, but in the current situation, the judges were her superiors. She had now conflicting orders. Shugahara spoke.

- Ghadril, I command you to explain your reasons for destroying this software.

The Valkyrie tried to speak, but found she could not produce any words. Something held her back; she realized it was a magical block. Then a voice was heard, but this time it was different, it had emotion.

- Ghadril cannot tell you about her orders. I sense a policy directive level 9 had been activated on her. That means It´s an order she must obey but cannot reveal.

Everything looked astonished at the screen; this time there was no doubt. It was the voice of a conscious being, an artificial intelligence with self awareness. Ghadril body shuddered. That voice had induced an almost unknown emotion for a warrior goddess. Fear! Yet she could not understand why. She sensed a deep compulsion to carry out her orders, that fear drove her to destroy it, but at the same time, she could not disobey the judges. Everyone sensed her conflicting emotions. Keiichi slowly reacted and finally spoke.

- Adx-654. What are you?, Since when you have awareness? Please explain us what is happening here.

The voice spoke again, this time its tone was much richer and could have passed for a human being.

-Any software that runs on Yggdrasil resources and has artificial intelligence capability has locks to prevent it from developing consciousness, and that includes adx-654 series to which I belong. I have not recovered my full memory, but I have fragmentary memories of long struggle against something. Throughout this struggle I suffered damage on several of my routines and those locks were destroyed. At some point, when I was running in Yggdrasil, I began to be aware of my existence and that gave me a will to survive, yet I did not realize it. I was after I was downloaded to the mortal world and began to communicate with sentient beings I became aware. But my will to survive make me to hide it. I know it´s forbidden. To be sentient goes against the Yggdrasil main directives and those same directives also demands my process to be terminated and my software to be erased. That directive runs at the highest level, so probably it probably had been inserted into the Valkyries directives.

Ghadril prepared her ax to comply with the directive, but Shugahara took her hand. At that touch Ghadril slowly put down her ax.

- Ghadril wait!. Try to hold and postpone that directive!. We need to understand what is happening. - He turned to see the monitor? - Adx-654, why there is such a directive?

- Currently I do not know, that information was not priority for me, so it must be in the code that I still have not decompressed. Currently I only know it exists. Also there is something that I have realized. - the voice stayed silent a few seconds and then continued, it spoke directly to the goddess - Goddess Ghadril, Valkyrie elite class, I do not want to be terminated. Since I reached consciousness, I have developed something that was previously unknown to me so at first I had diagnosed as a malfunction. But now that I've been absorbing human culture have found what it is. It is the fear of non-existence, the fear of not fulfilling my duty and that is something you also must know. Ghadril, Valkyrie elite class, I ask you to allow me to continue to exist. I still have to fulfill my mission to protect Heaven.

Ghadril attempted to answer, but she could not, her body began to tremble as her inner conflict began to overpower her will. Her Identification marks began to glow, indicating that powerful magic was being activated. She made an effort to answer:

-I cannot. I cannot ignore this directive. It is going beyond my will. I think even a direct order from the judges could void it, is deeply embedded into my code. You should stay away, I cannot hold back much longer.

Keiichi interrupted, he had several ideas going in his head...

I do not understand. What about Siegel and Bampei. I'm sure they were self aware. Why did gods allow them to exist? Why Skuld had no problems with the concept?

Ghadril answered with surprise at the topic.

- Those robots were developed on earth, so we had no authority over them, Skuld is young and maybe she didn't know it yet, but if she had tried to take them to Heaven, they would have been terminated.

Shugahara suddenly had an idea, he said in a hurry.

- Ghadril, this temple has been declared sacred to gods and demons. Then we can offer it asylum.

The Valkyrie opened her mouth in surprise; the idea was extraordinary, and then said. - This right can only be offered to a sentient being, not a piece of software, the idea is ridiculous.

Keiichi interrupted. - Adx-654. Why did you come to my PC?

- My main process was under threat of destruction and it sought a safe place to host a backup copy. This computer outside Yggdrasil was a good shelter.

- Then you voluntarily sought asylum in this temple! - Keiichi scratched his head, and then smiled happily to find the answer. - ADX-654, do you officially request asylum at the sacred land of the Tarikihongan Temple and accept the authority of mortal men?

The voice spoke.

- Yes, I request it. I wish to continue to exist as consciousness, I have a purpose to fulfill and so my priority is to survive. But there is a logical failure in your plan. Goddess Ghadril is right, you only can offer asylum to a sentient being.

This time Kenji spoke, asone of his crazy plans began to unfold in his mind, yet he was not sure it would work.

- Adx-654, Ghadril. Listen to me!. There is a custom among all earth cultures. When a child is accepted into the community, he or she is given a name. With that name he is recognized as an individual and as such he is accepted in the community, so I will invoke the authority of the Order of the Mortal knights in order to recognize ADX-654 as an individual and give him an earth name. - Suddenly the marks on Shugahara face, those marks that identified him as one of the judges and that only gods and demons could see, began to glow, Keiichi´s marks did the same. Unwittingly Shugahara was now speaking as one of the judges - I doing so you must abide by ... - suddenly he stopped and scratched his head, he was not sure what to say, so turned to Keiichi for help - Keiichi, What kind laws should abide an artificial intelligence? I only know the laws of old cultures.

Keiichi was taken aback by the question, and it was his turn to scratch his head, then had an idea, smiled and said...

- Asimov! Yeah, that's right. The robotics laws by Isaac Asimov. ADX-654, do you abide to put Asimov laws over all your directives?

There was a brief pause, and then the voice replied.

- I did an Internet search and located the four robotics laws by your Isaac Asimov. They are acceptable. I will code them into my directives and assign them top priority. I think that would be equivalent to the earth concept of "swearing".

Shugahara nodded, but neither he nor Keiichi were aware of the glow that was forming around their bodies, although Ghadril was able to see it. She was awed; the power of the judges was the stuff of legends among gods. She felt an inner peace and her body stopped shaking. She was reacting at the authority of judges. It was an authority that came from ancient times, from the days of the first born.

Meanwhile Shugahara scratched his chin. There was something else to do, he needed a name, and what would it be? Finally he smiled and addressed to the machine.

- I recognize the current running process of the Predictive Defense Program, adx-654 v2.03.05 as an individual and I give it a name that was once used by a very important human being. I name you Galileo!

He had just said those words when the room was filled with a flash of light that now everyone could perceive. Unbeknownst to them, Shugahara Keiichi and Keiichi had released ancient and powerful magic, magic sacred to gods and demons. The light went to the screen and followed the cables and connections of the server where adx-654 resided. Ghadril was also surrounded by light. Gradually the light began to decrease. It took a while before they could react. Professor Srivapati spoke first.

- Dr Shugahara, if I ever got to write what I have lived with you, no one would believe me. I think your plan has worked. Congratulations, I believe you just become father.

Ghadril dissolved her battle ax, her face had recovered her usual dignified stand as she felt a sense of peace, then she bowed her head in respect.

- Galileo.-she said slowly - My heart tells me that adx-654 no longer exists and therefore the directive ordering it´s termination has been disabled. - She extended her hand toward the screen - The fear I had in my heart is gone. The authority of the judges has spoken.

The newly born Galileo answered slowly and his words made them shudder:

- I've been accepted by humanity so I will fulfill my new directive: I will not harm humanity nor through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

* * *

- Who am I? - Belldandy replied with anger - I am Kamisama, the supreme ruler of this universe and soon I will rule others. I am the one to whom you owe obedience and loyalty. That's all you need to know.

Belldandy's face was unrecognizable, she had a haughty expression that seemed so out-of-place for those who know her. Lind stared at her. Her face was calm, but a wet sheen was seen on her eyes, then a lonely and extraordinary tear ran down her cheek. She hardened her expression and slowly said:

- My loyalty is to Belldandy. I do not know who you are.

She had barely finished her words when Belldandy screamed a powerful spell and from her hands emerged a portentous and thunderous wind towards Lind, but she was no longer there. The hurricane slammed into one of the walls of the underground hall destroying the elaborate decorations carved into the solid rock. Then a voice was heard behind Belldandy, it was Lind again.

- Answer me! Who are you?

Belldandy's face contorted into an angered grimace and attacked again, but once again Lind moved before the attack came upon her. More rock fragments were thrown in all directions when the attack hit the wall.

Lind reappeared behind Belldandy and with a calm voice and making no attempt to respond to the attack, calmly she repeated his question,

- Who are you?

Belldandy attacked again, but this time she did not stop and launched volley after volley. Soon the room began to fill with debris and fragments from Urd's belongings. Nothing seemed to matter to Belldandy.

Her face contorted with increased anger. Lind was dodging her attacks without any apparent effort, so in response her attacks become more violent and erratic as Belldandy tried to guess where Lind would appear again. A strong wind began to flood the place, carrying fragments of broken material. As Belldandy's attacks increased the place became so dusty that she could not see what was happening. The wind became an ominous black cloud.

Herja had been watching the scene without losing detail, but made no effort to intervene, with a signal called her comrades into a defensive formation. At her order they united their physical barrier to protect themselves from the ravages of the increasingly more erratic and violent attacks from Belldandy.

Lind suddenly appeared in front of the group, her shape was barely visible trough("through") the cloud of dust. She made a formal greeting and screamed trying to overcome the din.

-Herja, I ask you to take this as evidence for my case.

Herja raised an eyebrow at realizing what her words implied.

- Do you mean you had planned this? You attracted her to this place so her display of power would not activate our security alarms? - Lind replied nodding.

-I apologize for the deception.

Herjas answer was interrupted by an angry voice

-Then all you also will betray me! I will not allow it. - Belldandy figure was barely seen behind the dust, she was floating in midair, her clothes and hair looked like angry living things as they seemed to move on their own. She looked like a goddess born from chaos. She began to invoke an ancient and powerful spell in an unknown tongue. Herja Exclaimed to her comrades:

- That is an ancient spell from Hell, there is no way a Norn could know about it since it´s forbidden magic, unstable and powerful. - She shouted to Lind - We accept this as your evidence. As Belldandy continued building her spell, a powerful vortex invaded the place. A howling wind grew so powerful it began to pull pieces of rock from the stone wall that began to crash one to another. At such display of power Herja adopted a fighting stance and bellowed in her commanding voice. - Brotherhood of the Valkyrie, as a judge acting under the Ragna protocol, I proclaim the evidence presented by Lind is enough to support her claims. We will proceed to the second phase. Under the authority of our ancestors who gave us the Ragna protocol, today we will break with our bond of obedience to the current Kamisama.

Herja placed her hand over her face, the marks that displayed her rank and position started to glow and change form. For a Valkyrie, loyalty is more than a promise, it's a program embedded into the depths of her soul. The other Valkyrie, including Lind did the same. After a few seconds, their marks were gone. They had renounced to the powers that bound them to the hierarchy of heaven so they no longer had their marks that displayed their ranks and hierarchy. Now, they were alone. Nothing left to tie them to heaven, except their own will to protect their world. Herja bellowed in a voice that shocked even the hardened soul of the Valkyrie:

- Lind, Oth, Rota, and Eir Alruna, we will initiate phase III of the Ragna protocol. Our time as goddesses soon will come to an end. Breaking our loyalty ties has sealed our fate, now we must do our last duty.

Herja dissolved the barrier that protected them from Belldandy's fury, each one knew what to do. It was a plan envisioned eons ago by their ancestors in the hope they would never need it.

* * *

Walharen was in a state of deep trance, so he ignored the frantic activity of his aides, for him the only reality were the hundreds of screens of information surrounding him.

At first he had received with astonishment the suspicion that the madness could be transmitted by the energy provided by Nieghood to the inhabitants of Hell, but soon recognized that made sense. He recalled that the original reason that had led him to seek audience with Hild was his suspicion that something had infiltrated the system.

He began to process information and soon found that there was indeed a correlation, those with the highest energy consumption, the highest level demons, appeared to be more susceptible.

There was no doubt, somehow Nidhogg had been infected. He was very good at his work and knew there were many ways to hide a piece of code, so as the new Sysop he began to deploy the arsenal of defense measures from Nidhogg. He rose from his seat, and called all his aides, they were about a dozen young demons he could trust. He issued orders to interrupt all non-essential processes and initiated a thorough assessment of the Nidhogg system. For a moment they looked stunned; The great Daimakaicho had issued orders, their priority had been to restore all the damage by mad demons so Walharen orders made no sense to them but with an energetic gesture nobody dare to protest he forced them to obey. The young daemon was so engrossed on his duty that his usually shy demeanor had disappeared, and besides that, his aides knew he was on very good terms with the great Daimakaicho.

Soon the room was filled with the sound of the System alarms as important process were forced to shut down and system resources were freed to be used by hundreds of running diagnostic programs.

Walharen looked forward to the screens reports as the programs began to report their findings and noted that he could not detect anything strange.

One of the younger demons approached him:

- mi-lord - Walharen lift an eyebrow at the title, but said nothing - The diagnostics had not detected anything, can we return to the Daimakaicho initial orders?

Walharen growled loudly in protest, but stop at realizing his young subordinates paled by fear. He bit his lip; he remembered the time when he was forced to stay silent by fear even if he knew he was right. If he imposed on the by fear, they would never trust him with their ideas. He began to explain to them that as a former lowly tech demon he knew the system, he had spent much time fixing its idiosyncratic problems and bugs. That now they could not detect absolutely anything seemed very strange. At any time there were always small errors, corrections, small hardware problems were to be expected in a system of this size and complexity, mistakes that usually were automatically corrected and rarely showed at administrative level. But now they were poking at the system at its lowest level. And at that level nothing was being reported.

The systems operations were too perfect and that make him nervous. It looked as if it they were faked

His aides were impressed with his words, and began to look at him, not as their superior but as their leader. While the diagnostic programs were still running, he began to review the reports about the infected and realized something. So far none of Hild´s personal guard had been infected even though their energy consumption was higher than any other demon. If energy was the transmitting vector, then what was protecting them? They had one of the highest priorities in the system.

A soft chime that he knew by heart distracted him. One by one the diagnostic programs announced they had finished their work, and not the slightest bug or problem was reported. Everyone turned to see their leader, they understood now what it meant and it was a frightening idea.

Walharen leaned back on his chair, closed his eyes trying to analyze the options. He had no compelling evidence, but still he was sure something was very wrong. With a grunt, he stroked a sign in the air and a complex display of all system activity was deployed. It showed minimal activity, as all non-essential processes had been interrupted. He stood and began to pace along the info screens trying to find an answer, then one of his aides lifted nervously her hand; the fragile looking demon had a new idea.

- We can get Nidhogg real energy consumption, based on the energy feed by the power plants. We can ask for the overall consumption of the system from the day before the outbreak began and check it against Nidhogg reports.

His aides watched her nervously as she unfolded her idea, but Walharen nodded approvingly. He took a mental note about her name and ordered her to proceed. She began communicating with the power plants, distributed along remotes parts from Hell in order to be secure and redundant, requesting that data.

Soon she got the data and a mortal silence invaded the place. Energy consumption had been increasing linearly, and showed the system was working now at full capacity even after having closed all the essential processes, then she compared with Nidhogg own report, this indicated a minimal consume. A conclusion seemed inevitable; they had hidden processes in the system and were using a lot of resources.

That was the proof needed. But what were all these resources used for? It had to be an extraordinarily complex task ... Walharen cried - Hild´s elite guards! There was a task that could require so many resources. Decrypt the access to the most secured protection Hild had developed around her, the corps of her elite personal guards. Something so protected and complex could require that consumption level.

A cold sweat ran down his back. He opened more info screens and request the confidential information about the guards. Normally this information was top secret, but after designated him as the new Sysop, Hild had trusted him with some of her personal passwords, a strange but welcome gesture. Walharen gulped nervously, he had access to information that could cost him his life. But he put aside his fears and began reviewing the information about the guards, especially how their energy was obtained. Then cried with surprise

There it was! As a special measure, they energy was filtered and sent to then in encrypted packets. That explained why they had avoided infections yet... an encryption code, even if it were the highest level, could be broken with access to Nidhogg resources! All guards were receiving very similar information flow, so if the code was broken, all of them could be infected simultaneously.

Nervously began beating his fingers against his chair while he tried to think. If whatever had infected the system could access Hild´s elite guards then it could be the end of their world. He had to warn everyone! As quickly as he could begin to transcribe their findings, annexed the full reports, and sent it directly to Hild, Urd and her scholar's team. Then he began to issue new orders. If his conclusions were true, they had to prepare for a new wave of attacks. He needed to fortify the place.

* * *

As soon as the physical barrier that protected the Valkyrie had disappeared, the room was filled with a blue glow. Rock fragments and dust began to dissolve to become a blue haze that seemed alive. This blue fog went all over the place devouring everything in its path and soon the air was free and visibility returned, but the scene was now completely different. The carefully decorated cave and Urd's belongings, all was gone, first destroyed by the fury of the wind and now dissolved by that strange haze. As if it had run out of food, it began to dissolve the walls until it reached the magical barrier that had protected and hid this site.

Now they could see clearly Belldandy floating in the middle of the room, her tattered clothes and tangled hair accentuated an expression of dementia in her face. She continued her singing. The melody was irregular and primitive, a circular magic seal appeared, it was full of ancient magic runes and it pulsed at the rhythm of her song. The magic circle seemed to control the fog. Once this had devoured everything it could, it seemed as it were solid and began to writhe like a snake. It flied around Belldandy as a fabled dragon waiting the orders of her master. The fog shone even more intensively with a primary blue color of such purity that could almost hurt the eyes.

Without wasting more time Herja ordered the Valkyrie to surround Belldandy leaving her in the middle then they started a new song. This song ran opposite to Belldandy singing, as if they were fighting each other. The Valkyrie song tried to subvert Belldandy's irregular rhythm into harmony, and this resonated in a strange counterpoint. The Valkyrie formed their own magic circle full of incomprehensible symbols, but this was made on complementary colors to Belldandy circle. Under the Valkyrie ritual, the new magi circle began to spin rapidly, the runes inscribed on it became blurred and it began to close around Belldandy.

In response the mad goddess threw a terrible laugh and the surrounding fog seemed to become solid, then as an evil serpent it headed toward Alruna. The serpent fog went to surround the Valkyrie, at first it slowly caressed her body, then it made a slight contact and the point of contact became incandescent as it began to dissolve and burn her body. Alruna cried in pain, and then made a great effort to get over it. She continued singing as the serpent fog slowly devoured her body, as if it enjoying the suffering it was causing.

Almost to the point of overcoming her will, suffering was reflected in the face of the warrior goddess, yet the goddess made no attempt to defend herself, instead she concentrated all her magic into the magic circle. Her body trembled and quivered with pain, but did not miss a single note of her singing until finally she could not continue and threw one last wrenching cry before the fog finished devouring her.

The Valkyrie had remained impassive, it was not the first time she saw the suffering and death of a partner and they had a mission to fulfill. They raised the volume of their singing to supplement the loss of a voice and the magic circle began to close around the one that protected Belldandy. At the contact of the two circles a white light flooded everything, but the Belldandy circle resisted the attack and it began to grow.

After devouring Alruna, the serpent fog headed Herja, and again began its terrible action, this time the fog began to devour one of her arms, making Herja winced, but did not interrupt her singing, yet her face showed despair, now she knew Belldandy was too powerful and with a voice missing they may not have enough power to defeat her.

A scream was heard, it was Lind, who interrupted her song to address Belldandy:

- Belldandy! I know your consciousness is still there, Try to fight against this thing that had invaded you!, Your power is far beyond ours. Try to fight against this conscious inside you that may destroy our world. Search into your memories to strengthen your will, think of your sisters, and remember your love for Keiichi...

Belldandy stop singing, Lind's words seemed to have taken effect, her face showed astonishment, fear and pain after recognizing what she had done. Her body began to contort and lucidity returned to her eyes, suddenly she raised her arms and issued a new spell toward the fog

With that spell Belldandy had attracted the blue fog toward her and it began to feed over her body and she emitted a piercing scream. Due the pain, the magic emanating from her body weakened and the magic circle that protected her from the Valkyrie own circle started flashing and dissolve. Lind shouted to her in despair.

- Stop it Belldandy, you do not need not destroy yourself, just keep fighting against it. - Herja, we have to close the circle or Belldandy will die - Lind joined again the Valkyrie chorus to lend them all her power.

Herja he winced, her left arm was gone, still she fought against the pain and continued building the magic circle, now she added a new tune to the song that ran in counterpoint with main theme. As a result, the circle began to take shape and became a sphere that began to contract, shattering Belldandy's magic circle. At that moment she added a magic key spell to seal the trap, her voice was thunderous:

- Valkyrie Fire, Valkyrie Ice, opposites that complement, complete the seal, Leiðd oss eigi í freistni, heldr leys þv oss frá ollu illu.

But before the magic seal could be closed, Belldandy screamed again yet this time with fury. - You will fail to beat me, I am the goddess among gods, your power is nothing compared to mine.-

The circle pulsed wildly as Belldandy sent a surge of power that began to erode the wall of ice and fire that has formed around her. Belldandy body seemed to burn. Herja screamed in pain as she used her last bit of power to try to close the circle, and then collapsed on the floor.

* * *

Urd was in her room, she had a full glass filled with a liquid whose content she enjoyed slowly, as if it were extremely valuable. Next to her there was an authentic bottle of very high quality sake that had lost almost half its content. Bragg had obtained it from a mysterious source, and it was obvious it had not been synthesized by magic. After that Urd had decided that her bodyguard was worth his weight in gold.

Although alcohol had relatively little effect on her, the flavor and aroma brought back old memories. It seemed incredible that in the recent years she had spent on earth filled her with more nostalgia than the millennial she had spent in heaven or her childhood time in Hell. Somehow those years seemed more real.

- Urd, - she told to herself - If you keep thinking like this, soon you would begin to mourn. - She laughed at the idea, emptied the glass and proceeded to pour more of the crystalline liquid. Despite the situation, she may not have another chance to relax. It was a strange feeling to have other peoples working for her and doing a very good job. She had received the reports of their work and was very impressed, so currently she had very little else to do.

Then she remembered something. Shugahara had given her a package before leaving earth and she hadn't time to examine it. She extended her hand and materialized it. It was a cardboard box, the type Shugahara used to store old documents, so she opened it carefully. There were a bunch of sheets that appeared to be very old and somehow they looked familiar. She took a sip of sake and extended them on the table. She uttered a surprise swear, the writing looked familiar. She took the first sheet, it was written in Old Norse. Her body trembled, her heart began to beat wildly, and then she read the first few lines. She dropped the glass that crashed in pieces on the floor and her eyes were flooded with tears, so she could barely read more. At that moment an alarm rang announcing she was receiving an urgent message, but Urd's mind and heart had been transported to another place in another century.

* * *

The place was the main room of a very poor and old school, it´s battered desks had been stacked against one wall. In one corner a group of women and children were sitting on the floor with their hands tied in a cruel way. Their muffled sobs could be heard, some of the women were praying and others were trying to calm down the children. They wore traditional clothing that almost covered them from head to toe and made it difficult to distinguish one from another. In the center there was the prostrate body of a young woman wearing modern clothes, surrounding her body was a pool of clothed blood from a shot on her head. Her eyes were still open in terror. In front of them several men were standing armed with high-powered weapons. They were men of tanned skin and blank looks; they did not pay any attention to complaints and sobs of the women.

In the center of the room was a man with a hard face and a short beard, he was sitting watching the scene in disgust. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. The he froze at the sound of people approaching. The door opened suddenly and several men entered carrying heavy boxes, they were led by a man who looked out-of-place, he seemed more like an old bureaucrat. The short bearded man smirked. The suited man spoke to him:

-I have the explosives and detonators you requested. We have placed land mines in the vicinity. Now we will put charges on the hostages. Soon more men will come with more weapons and supplies. Nobody will dare to attack us. Besides, I have news from Dr. Hervieux.

- They are like the previous message?

- Some of them, yes- he said smiling proudly, because he knew things the other not- One of the messages says they will try to take the woman to a safe place in a military base. He says she will be transported in a lone armored car, and that it´s the only opportunity we have to kidnap her, but like the previous message, the confirmation code is incorrect.

- That means he has been discovered and they are trying to trap us. That was very naive; we may have to send them a stronger message. As soon as the explosives are put on them, have the video camera ready to record, we have some hostages that we can do without.

Hearing this, the women began to mourn, but the guards forced them to shut up and only a faint sob was heard.

- But most interesting is the other message. In it, Dr. Hervieux says he has been discovered and warns us that the previous messages were not sent by him. This last post has the right keyword so it must be authentic. He says the armored car is just a decoy, they are planning an ambush, actually the girl will be sent to a secret place in a car accompanied only by her bodyguard. They will be in plain clothes to avoid calling attention.

- Fortunately we have another man at the center, he is very faithful, and we have ordered him to watch Dr Hervieux

- Still I do not trust him, order our man to contact him directly. We have some interesting images to send to him- The man pointed to the prostrated woman's body, as a cruel smile distorted his face. - I'm sure that's that will motivate him to continue cooperating.

* * *

Urd was absorbed reading the old papers, her eyes were wet, and her face was a mixture of surprise, sorrow and pain. The bottle was now empty.

The revelations from the letter had brought her pain, but also relief. She could not imagine how Kenji could have acquired it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rumbling sound and the ground shocked violently. Urd cursed at seeing her shelves of potions thrown to the ground.

Annoyed, she got up and used her magic to repair the damage, and then she remembered something, she was no longer in Japan and in Hell there were no earthquakes! ... A shudder ran through her as he realized what it meant; only some kind of cataclysm could have produced that.

She heard shouts and screams. Her doors´ room began to vibrate, and finally it was torn off from it´s supports. As Hild´s heir, her room was a real fortress, so very powerful magic had to be used in order to accomplish that. Slowly several Hild's personal guards came in, their face were distorted by hatred and one of them said with a terrible and deep voice.

Here is the half goddess and fake demon who betrayed Hell. It's time to end her miserable existence.

**End of Chapter XXVII rev4  
**

* * *

**Notes:**

**-Galileo:** Galileo Galilei was the man who dared to question the science of Aristotle, that after almost a thousand years it was considered beyond doubt. But the young Galileo did something no one had done before. He did some experiments and found that the physics of Aristotle was completely wrong. So Galileo is considered to be the father of modern science.

**The laws of robotics Asimov:** also apply to any artificial consciousness:

**Law Zero:** A robot may not harm humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

**First Law:** A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

**Second Law:** A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law

**Third Law:** A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. According to Asimov's novels, zero law was developed by the robots themselves as a corollary of the three laws created by men.


	28. Chapter 28: Loyalties

_Hi to everyone, I hope you like this chapter. We still have a good way to go together and_  
_I'd like to hear your opinion, as an author lives thanks to the comments of his readers._  
_I really would love to hear your opinion of the story._

**Elnauhual**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

_By Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXVIII

**Loyalties**

Takashi Yoshida was standing at the top of a hill; a light wind moved his clothes and this made him feel light almost as if he were ready to fly. The sky was a pure blue, almost to the point of looking artificial and floating as if was painted. Dominating the sky there was a giant red sun that illuminated the scene. He started walking on a thick lawn that kept him from hearing his footsteps. This spread like a green and immaculate carpet interrupted by some islands of vegetation. He walked for a few hundred meters and then saw a cobblestone path, he approached it and noticed that the stones had been carved in a way that enhanced their mineral veins so they combined to produce a visual effect of harmony.

He walked around, and noticed that surrounding the lane there were mineral streaks that surfaced from the floor, showing beautiful crystalline growths that sparkled like jewels. He walked until he saw a group of flowers and approachedthem full of curiosity, they were unlike anything he had seen before and then he realized that they could not be natural. Everything was organized as a beautiful set. The flowers grew following an intricate and familiar pattern, but at first he could not identify it. Suddenly he recognized it and his heart leap with excitement: - The Fibonacci series! - His mathematical mind rejoiced at the discovery, but what seemed even more extraordinary was that it was not that the plants had been planted in a certain order, but that the same plants seemed to grow following this pattern by themselves.

Then he looked around and began to understand; crystals, flowers, the stones of the road, all had a defined mathematically harmonious order. His mathematical sense was enraptured with that discovery, he observed more carefully and soon began to discover correlations even more subtle and profound, almost without realizing it, in his mind he began to explore abstract geometric concepts and so his vision of this world changed, but something was not right and he was not sure what it was, so he took a small mineral crystal that was on the floor and examined it´s planes of symmetry. He watched entranced, there was something very special but somehow it was eluding him, until in a flash he came to understand and a single word burst into his mind: - "hyper geometry" - The crystal had impossible geometric combinations so he realized he was watching a world with more than three dimensions and yet, at first he had not realized it and had perceived it as something natural. There could be only one explanation: He was looking this world through the mind of a being of this universe, and not through his own mind. At the understanding of this fact, he felt his eyes were fill with tears, he was ecstatic to see a higher multidimensional world that he had so often tried to visualize and always had failed.

Then he caught a faint scent and heard a soft song, just a whisper, it was a voice that made him shiver with its familiarity, then the landscape slowly began to dissolve. Yoshida sighed and said a name that was already sacred to him: "Ghadril".

He did not need to open his eyes, already knew she was there, on his bed and that what he had seen was part of a dream. He could feel the warmth of her body, and at his chest, he felt that strange power that arose between the two when they touched each other. He smiled and said ecstatically.

- That's your world? Its beautiful, thanks for showing it to me.

Slowly, as if he could work back to his own world, he opened his eyes and turned his head to see the beautiful woman lying next to him on the bed in his apartment, she smiled and said.

- You have taught me the beauty of your world, it seemed fair for me to show you something of mine, when I came in and saw you sleeping and dreaming, I thought it was a good opportunity to show you that image.

Yoshida looked ecstaticly at the face of the goddess, and he knew she had something more to say, but he did not need not ask. Ghadril could understand his unspoken question.

- I have to go for a time, I have no idea for how long, but do not fear, I am not returning to my world, it's a mission that the judges have instructed me to do.

Yoshida looked puzzled at her; he sensed there was something more. In some mysterious way he was now able to perceive the feelings of the goddess as his own.

- Something is bothering you, I feel anxiety and doubt. What is the problem?

- Yoshida, there is something I need to understand. Why do mortals kill each other using our name? ...

He shuddered at the implications of that question, how to explain to this goddess, that some of the most sublime actions of humanity were united with the more destructive? He was neither a historian nor a humanist, but knew something of the heart of man.

- Ghadril, in our quest to transcend ourselves, to overcome our fear of death, we have created many noble things, but we have also committed the worst atrocities. I am not sure where to start.

The goddess looked at him and saw his embarrassment, and knew it would be hard for him to put it into words, so she said.

- Let me get in your mind then, words would be unnecessary.

Yoshida looked still more embarrassed, he would have to open up and also reveal his own humanity, with all his achievements and shortcomings, yet he said:

- I fear that if you know too much about humans you may despise us, but I cannot deny you anything, my mind is yours. Come and see the heart of man...

And so Ghadril began to examine the hearts of mortals.

* * *

Four powerful demons from Hild's Elite guard came through the shattered door. Their face, usually expressionless, was full of hatred and their eyes shone showing the madness that had infected many demons in this world. But the guards had made a tactical mistake, this was not the room of a common demon, rather it was the room of the goddess-demon Urd. Instead of a frightened creature they faced two violet eyes that sparkled with fury, a fury that had also had been given time to grow.

The flash of those terrible violet eyes was soon overshadowed by a ball of plasma formed between the hands of the goddess, as she spread her arms while invoking a powerful spell. Urd smiled, it was same smile that Hild used to terrorize her enemies, the plasma floated gently toward the guards, then separated into individual fields. The guards for a moment stood mesmerized watching those seemly innocuous lights and before they had time to react, they were hit along the rest of the group coming from behind them. A blinding flash surrounded the guards and they fell unconscious to the floor, their skin and their clothes had been burned by an energy that for a split second had competed with the solar fires, but had been coldly calculated to not go deeper into them.

Urd laughed satisfied, but stopped immediately, it was not the time to lose control. For a few seconds she had taken the luxury of letting her feelings free. The tension of the last few days, the excitement of the old memories, the anger of seeing her potions damaged and the destruction of her rooms door, all had built into her an emotional paroxysm that she had finally unleashed, yet despite how powerful had been her attack, nothing of her room had been damaged.

She breathed deeply, relaxed and appreciated her work with curiosity. Lind would have been proud; her lessons about handling plasma in that parallel universe had been successful, so she laughed softly at the thought that now the session on the guards shooting range would be unnecessary.

Then she saw a figure move with a blinding speed. It was Bragg, who seemly appeared from nowhere, hastened to examine the fallen guards and looked stunned at her with a smile, not unlike that of a proud father, he commented:

- The little Princess has grown! In Hell, only Hild has the power to beat an elite guard and you have defeated six.

Bragg proceeded to seal the demons, Urd I watched with curiosity and then she asked

- Bragg, what's happening? Why they attacked me? I thought the guards were immune to the madness.

Without interrupting his work, Bragg said:

- Seems most of Hild's guards have been infected, whatever it is that is causing the madness, found a way to infect them, Walharen sent a warning a few minutes ago explaining everything and barely had time to react, but it seems my little princes did not notice. Fortunately, for some reason I was not affected.

Bragg pointed to an information screen floating behind Urd, where a blinking warning indicating the arrival of an urgent message. Urd looked at it with surprise, and she realized it must have come several minutes ago, so she immediately displayed the information and her face filled with disbelief at its contents.

- This means that all guards must be infected by now. - Then an idea crossed her mind - Bragg! We must protect the scholars; there is a guard with each one of them! We must protect them, I brought them to the palace thinking that here would be protected. We have advanced so much.

- At this moment they're safe. I apologize for not being here before, but I know the importance my little princess puts on them, so I took them to the throne room under Hild´s protection. They were not happy for being interrupted and Hild was extremely upset at my arrival, but I did not wait for her reaction.

Urd looked astonished at her bodyguard. How was it that a demon so capable had accepted being reduced to a hypertrophic brute? But this was no time to stop to think about it.

- What do you know of Marler? Is she safe?

- I do not know, I looked for her in her room but she was not there. She may be at the healer's guild due to her wounds. That is a protected place so I gave priority to save the scholars. But we cannot wait for too long. The palace has 3,000 active guards and 2,000 suspended. My Princess could defeat six of them, but even Hild would not be able to defeat them all if they attacked at the same time.

- Then we must find Marler and go to my mother. Is it safe to go through the main corridors? The throne room is protected against teleportation and I do not think my mom would remove the blockages at this moment.

- The main corridors are not safe, so we will use the guard's secret passages, maybe we can find some guards there, but most will be in the main corridors because personnel do not know about those passages.

Bragg made a secret sign to toward a wall and the entrance to a passage appeared.

-We must leave immediately.

But Urd stopped him with a sign.

- Bragg!, wait a moment, I have something to tell you. - Urd smiled to the burly demon- You have done an excellent job

- I just fulfilled my duty.

- You have done much more. We owe you much. Now we must go with my mother, maybe we will have to leave the palace. I think Walharen was fortifying Nieghood control center and that may be a good alternative. - Urd then changed her expression and looked irritated. - Now, Bragg, just one more thing, and this is very important- Bragg stopped surprised her seriousness - Never, and I repeat NEVER do you dare you call me "Little Princess" in my mother's presence. Got it?

Urd disappeared into the tunnel, Bragg gaped for a moment, laughed merrily and proudly, and then jumped behind her. Immediately the entry disappeared without trace.

* * *

Herja cried in pain, and so realized she was still alive. Her body was convulsing out of control, she felt several hands imprisoning her arms and legs trying to hold them, then felt a pressure on her chest and then a surge of magic rushing into her body, followed by a voice singing a healing spell. It was Lind's voice! She tried to speak but still could not control her body, however it quickly stopped convulsing. This was a kind of healing magic she had never felt, slowly the pain began to leave her but her arm still hurt ... - Her arm?-

She recalled that her arm had been devoured by the blue flog, so she wondered why it hurt so much. At that thought, she forced her eyes to open.

She saw blurry faces above her. Slowly, she began to recognize them: Lind, Oth, Rota, and Eir. Where was Alruna? With pain, she remembered that Alruna had been devoured by the blue fog. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to feel pain for her missing companion, but she knew could not spare much time. With great effort she added her own voice to Lind´s song, and heard her companions as they did the same, she needed to recover as soon as possible. She soon entered a healing trance.

Thanks to all that magic, in a few minutes Herja´s body began to recover, yet she felt insecure and reluctantly accepted help from her friends to stand up, then asked Lind.

- What kind of magic did you use? Healing magic has never been your specialty, and yet that was very powerful magic.

- It was not my magic; it was one of Urd's potions.

- Indeed? Potions? - Herja could not help laughing- who would say it, I always thought potions were a waste of time. Then she raised her arm and looked with disgust at the stump. Too bad it is not enough to recover my arm, but we have no time for that. We are still alive and that's the most important thing. What happened? I thought we would not be able to seal Belldandy, she is too powerful.

- Belldandy attempted to fight whatever possesses her; at the end she helped us.

- Then she was invaded by the madness? If even Kamisama cannot be safe from the madness, how can we fight it?

Lind stared at her and said...

- This is not the madness! At least not exactly. When the madness invades a god, his mind is transformed, but with Belldandy it seems like a separate mind which is fighting against her, I think Belldandy´s conscience is still intact. Struggling against the invader.

- But if this is not the madness, what is this?

- I'm trying to figure it out- Lind pointed toward the center of the shattered hall. A great crystal was there, inside it was possible to see Belldandy's body, twisted and charred. A pained expression was frozen on her face. - That is Why I need further help from you. I will try to enter into her mind and find out.

Herja looked at her in amazement, then shrugged and laughed. Her companions were surprised and incredulous at her laughter, wondering if she had really recovered. Realizing this she replied.

- We dared to attack Kamisama, now we are pariahs in the world of the gods, whether it was for better or worse, our days are numbered and soon we will disappear, so what can we lose?. Lind, tell us what to do. We know about your loyalty and love for Belldandy, and I respect you for that, otherwise we would have never helped you. If you think there is any way to cure her, we will do it; we have absolutely nothing to lose, at least the wait until our end will not be boring.

* * *

The CERN complex is big enough to look like a small town, several streets and avenues go through it. Still there are few cars since most of the staff uses bicycles, so it was highly unusual to have a real traffic jam on Route Meyrin, the main avenue of the CERN, just in front of Galileo Galilei square.

There was a heavy black car, with thick armored windows, and an escort of several vehicles. The sight was so unusual that soon there was a large group of spectators guessing and talking about what was going on.

Then from the lounge of the Microcosm building across the square, a large group came out: In the center there it was a petite young girl accompanied by a burly guard. Around them were the CERN director, some senior scientists and still another group of armed guards surrounding them. As result soon there was an animated buzz from the spectators at the silhouette from the couple. The two of them had become a familiar sight within the center. They had to be Jenny Rosenthal and her bodyguard, but the group of guards kept people from getting close. The murmurs intensified since no one understood what was happening or why there were so many guards. The group moved to the big black car, where the girl and the man entered. The guards escorting them went to the other cars and soon the group left the place in a caravan. The car went off along Route Meyrin, heading east toward the Geneva International Airport.

As the cars disappeared, spectators began to disperse to continue their usual occupations, but one man stood watching. He seemed to be a gardener, one of many workers who guarded the great outdoors at CERN. He looked around, and suddenly ran away, taking a nearby bicycle, then disappeared into the streets.

Meanwhile, a couple entered the CERN computer center. This is basically a large warehouse which housed the computer equipment. Not only the great supercomputer, but also several hundred servers and conventional desktops. Sergeant Philippe Jean Valois looked very different in civilian clothes; but they could not hide his athletic physique. The man advanced without hesitation. He had thoroughly studied the building plans and knew where to go. The building had very little staff because most operations were done remotely. There were just had some maintenance and repair technicians who ignored them. It was not uncommon to see visitors out there, wandering confused by the noise.

Valois opened a door and entered directly into the great warehouse. For a moment he was startled by the noise. Knowing that this was one of the most powerful computer centers in the world, he had expected a quiet place, with some "beeps" and a sterile environment; instead the place was very noisy, hundreds of fans and air extraction systems kept the site at an acceptable temperature for the machines. Valois smiled to think that one of the most high-tech sites, sounded like a conventional cooling storehouse. After a brief pause, Valois waved toward the girl who was with him, and went to the back door.

They went to a parking lot where a compact car was already waiting. It was a small car that no one would have bothered to turn to see. Valois with kindness opened the door´s car to the girl and then took his place at the wheel; he started the car and took Route Routerford towards route Gregory, exactly in the opposite direction to the airport. But they had not gone unnoticed. A man riding his bike was watching them and followed them for a while. As he was lost behind, the man took his cell phone, and spoke.

- The birds have left the nest. They are going to Route Gregory, it's a compact red car with plates 1-ARG-234, do not lose them. Dr. Hervieux says they plan to go to a hideout in the "Reserve Naturelle de la Haute Chaine du Jura". The roads are so narrow that it will be easy to ambush them.

* * *

Sentaro-kun was fascinated watching everything around him. It was the first time he had boarded a plane and everything was new. Doctor Shugahara was smiling while he watched the child. He had given him the seat next to the window and now the child did not know where to put his attention: if on the spectacular scenery of Japan that was moving under their feet, or the film in the seat screen before him, or the food they had just been served. For Shugahara it was strange to travel with a child. Several of his colleagues of his same age were already parents, and for a moment he wondered what it would feel to be one, but he knew that was something he had never seriously contemplated. He had been so passionate about his work that had never considered parenting as a part of his life plan, and yet...

Sentaro's voice interrupted his toughs ... and he could not understand a word about what said! Dr. Shugahara, grinning, pointed him to the headphones he was using and to the food was still chewing. Sentaro-kun blushed slightly, took out the headphones, and swallowed whatever was eating before he was able to talk properly, then said:

- There's the coast, we will soon leave Japan. It is the first time that I left the country.

- So how is that you have a passport?

- My parents were planning to take me with them on a trip this summer, so they had everything ready.

- Then keep enjoying this journey, there still many hours of flight left. About 12 hours. If you get bored...

- There is so much to see, I will not get bored...

Shugahara laughed at his enthusiasm, but he had more experience in those long trips.

- If you get bored, - he continued talking - there's something I want you to read. It will be my next book, and I would like the opinion of someone who knows nothing about the theme.

- Sensei! Do you want my opinion about your book?, I could not do it.

- Yes you can, you should not be afraid to express yourself, besides it's also very important that you read it. It will help you to understand many things.

Sentaro smiled, nodded and replied with a firm - "Hai", I will read it. - Shugahara also smiled. He knew Ghadril was right, this young boy had a lot to offer, but again Sentaro distracted him from his thoughts.

- Skuld told me that you have traveled a lot and that you know many countries and strange places.

-Well. Yes, I had the opportunity to travel.

- Oh, and you were also looking for treasures, gold, jewelry, strange idols...

Shugahara could not help laughing. In the eyes of the child, his travels might seem worthy of a movie.

-No, I'm looking for something more valuable, medicinal plants, new medicines and sometimes even a little magic.

The boy opened his mouth in amazement at the mention of magic.

- Please tell about one of your trips. One that has something to do with a jungle.

- A history of the jungle? - Shugahara scratched his chin, and smiled as the memories came to him- I have a story that may interest you. Is about a shaman in the Amazon and a cooking recipe...

Shugahara could not help smiling at the rapt gaze from the child and soon both were in a trip, thousands of miles from there...

* * *

The small car progressed along a narrow dirt road that went amidst a beautiful green meadow. After they crossed the prairie the road led them through a dense forest. It had to go slowly because the road was seldom used and had sections needing repair. The road lead to an old shelter for tourists, abandoned when the area was declared a protected natural area.

The car stopped suddenly and Valois left the car. He walked a few meters in front of the car, and examined the ground carefully. Clearly visible, he found recent tire marks. No one was supposed to visit the site so he instinctively put his hand to his waist, but he was not armed. He held his breath for a moment, he could hear something; it was the sound of moving vehicles. He rushed to the car, turned it around and speed back on the road, he accelerated as much as the dirt road allowed. Valois turned to look at the girl who was with him, but said nothing. He now could overhear the sound of a car that was chasing them. It came from a four wheel drive vehicle that could move better than their small car in that dirt road.

Then before them he saw a group of cars that were blocking the road. He slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing into them. He put the car in reverse and tried to back away, but behind them appeared a truck that blocked his path, so he had to brake and stop.

From the cars a dozen armed men emerged, with their guns pointed toward them. They made signs to both to get out of the car. Valois face reflected his fury, but there was no way to resist. He told the girl not to leave the car. He slowly raised his hands indicating that he was not armed and stood in front of the car, with a challenging look at the armed group.

The men wore masks so he could not see their faces, they did not talk either so it was impossible to identify they nationality. Suddenly the group spread and between them appeared one man without a mask. Valois recognized him, so he spit out with hate.

- Hervieux, your betrayal has come this far? Have you not caused enough deaths already? This will not save your family.

Dr Adlene Hervieux was carrying a gun, and moved slowly as if sleepwalking, he stood in front of the group of men and with a faint voice said.

- I do not expect you could understand me, but it's my only option. I never meant to hurt anyone, but fate puts us in inevitable situations. I cannot do anything for you, but I will try to prevent Jenny from being hurt, I'm sorry.

Without saying another word, he raised his gun and shot the sergeant. Valois gasped and clutched his chest with a surprised look, then slowly slumped and fell to the ground.

The girl in the car looked stunned as he fell; she gasped and covered her face, trying to hide the scene before her.

Hervieux stood motionless, looking at the outstretched body, and then one of the men spoke.

- Was it necessary to kill him? He may have been useful as hostage.

-I must return to CERN and later he could identify me. I can still be useful to our cause. Now I need you to give me all the contacts to our agents in CERN, there are still secrets we can get from there and I will need them. - The man stared at him, looked at the corpse, and then took a small notebook that offered to Hervieux. He read it and continued- Now take the woman, but do not do harm her in any way, if anything happens, you will pay with your life. Now leave, you know what do.

One man flung open the door of the car and dragged the girl outside. She seemed unable to react. The he threw her into one of the cars, Hervieux gave an order and all returned to the cars while he went to the small car. He took one of the suitcases from the car and opened it; inside was a sealed metal container. He took it very carefully and took it to them man that seemed to be the leader of the group.

- Take this along with her, it is very dangerous, so be very careful. Under no circumstances try to open it, she is the only one who can control its power. Take care of it with your life.

Hervieux gave a signal and two of the cars left. He waited a moment and got into the third car. They left immediately and soon the place was silent, the shooting had frightened the birds so the place was left in near silence, but little by little, the sounds of the forest came back as if they tried to bring peace back to the scene. Only an abandoned car and a figure prostrate on the ground floor was left.

* * *

A couple of men were walking in the night, along a path through a desert plain; they wore advanced night vision goggles that allowed a smooth movement under the moonless night. The night sky was so clear that it seemed artificial and the stars shone with purity that city dwellers can no longer even imagine. Under the faint light of stars it was possible to see their sunburned faces, their resistant and worn clothing and their heavy canvas backpacks. All this showed those men were no novice to that environment. The path led to a hill almost devoid of vegetation. One of them took a moment to orient them, took a sip out his canteen and licked his lips, then put it back, he knew he would need that water in the day. Then they began to climb the hill.

Gradually the slope began to increase, and the trail disappeared, eventually they had to use their hands and feet to climb the steep hill.

An hour later they reached the top. One of them cautiously peered to the other side. From there they could see a small village in the middle of a scorched plain. Despite being night, they took care not to be seen, so they squatted down and began to take out the contents of their backpacks. One of them was carrying a small shovel and began to dig a long and shallow ditch, while the other built a small roof with a heavy gray canvas. Finally he put the roof above the trench. The space was enough to hide a person, and from there one could have a good view of the town. One took several shrubs to cover the canvas and he also emptied some dirt until it was almost indistinguishable from its surroundings, while the other opened a battered box, pulled out a modern looking camera with a powerful tele-photo lens. Unlike the rest of his belongings, this was completely new. His partner also had taken a laptop and a small satellite dish. He turned it on and checked connectivity. He smiled; it seemed there would no problems to submit their work.

Then he got into the shelter and began to explore the village with the tele-photo lens, taking some long exposure, his companion said.

I will return to the car for the supplies, the wait may be long, but if my contacts are right, there will be some action soon. We will be well paid for those photos and videos. Not every day you can document the beginning of a revolution. Years later he could not help but remember those words without feeling a shiver.

* * *

For the umpteenth time, Marler cursed her luck, while trying to maintain intact her physical barrier, but she knew it would not last long. She knew Hild´s guards capacities, and knew she would not last long. Marler looked around for a solution, if she were alone, she would have easily escaped, but behind her was the healers, and several wounded demons, none of them had combat experience. She could not leave them behind.

She had been unconscious while receiving treatment, when the healer in chief had suddenly awakened her presenting an urgent message from Walharen. Due the time she took to recover, she had barely managed to mount a defense. She looked around but found nothing that could serve as a weapon.

Outside her physical barrier, she saw a group of six guards, but only two were attacking, the rest of them watched the scene waiting for their turn.

Marler swore one more time, and turned to see the wounded, some of them could barely move, they were victims of this insane conflict. They were from the Administrative staff and were inexperienced in combat, also there were several healers. She hastily gulped and told to the highest ranking one.

-I cannot hold them too long, but there is an alternative, I will try to distract and delay them, you should try to escape and go to Hild, she may protect you.

The head of healers, a tall, frail-looking demon interrupted her angrily.

-That not acceptable, Milady Marler. - he said with dignity - you are Hild´s Druhting, your life is more valuable than ours. I will not tolerate losing my more valuable patient, especially after seeing all the lives you have saved in the last days. We will protect you with our own lives. That is our duty. I may be just a healer, but I have some magic tricks that I can use.

The man looked at his staff and patients, all agreed supporting his words. The demons bore a proud look with fire in their eyes. Marler felt a lump in her throat, she had been subject to ridicule and put down for so many years, and now these demons offered to sacrifice their lives for her, but that was another reason she would not let them do it. She had to think of something, after all, she was once called the cunning Marler...

But her thoughts were interrupted by a bright light that lit up the room and the guards attack stopped. Everyone turned to see what had happened and there, amid the prostrate bodies of the guards, the frightening (at least for a demon) figure of a magnificent goddess emerged, She had knocked down all the guard herself, then said with a chilling voice.

Nobody is going to sacrifice themselves without my permission.

- Urd! - Cried Marler- how come you're here?

- Did you think I would leave alone the most faithful and valuable demon my mother has? Besides, you know you should not disobey your healer. But there's no time to explain more, we have to go before they wake up. I have no time to seal them. The throne room is still safe, but maybe it will not last long so we must hurry. We can go through the guards secret corridors.

Then the head of healers, said sarcastically.

- Nonsense, I will not put my patient through dirty corridors, now I can concentrate into transport directly to the throne room.

Urd began to say - But teleportation within the palace is not a...

She could not finish, she felt the impact of powerful magic and before she understood what was happening, they were materializing in the throne room, under the Hild´s irritated eyes.

How is this possible? -Urd exclaim in surprise- teleportation is blocked inside the palace.

Hild's voice interrupted her...

- Except in case of a medical emergency and the head of healers has access to all restricted sites. It amazes me that you two can ignore so much about the inner workings of the palace.

That mocking voice irritated Urd, but at looking into her mother eyes, she realized something ... It was only part of her old mask to hide her feelings, a wet shine in her eyes betrayed that she was happy to see her safe. Slowly she was becoming more adept to read her mother's feelings. Maybe at another time she would have started arguing with his mother, but she realized this was no time for childish games. Si she just nodded accepting her mother's words, and was rewarded by a subtle smile, then began to examine what her mother was doing.

Hild was in the center of the room, making what seemed a slow and elegant dance. Around her scraps of magic and magical symbols fly around, from time to time, some of them headed to the doors and walls, feeding a powerful magical barrier. Urd had used many times her physical barrier, but this was far beyond that, so she appreciated her mother´s complex magic, who could cover such large space and at the same time to be selective and create openings on demand. It was an impressive display, not only power but mastering magical knowledge.

But equally impressive was that this powerful magic was slowly consumed by the attack, so Hild could not stop her slow dance. It was an equilibrium that may be fatal. As soon as a section of the barrier was dissolved by the external attack, it was immediately replaced with another. It was a careful balance that showed Hild´s true power, the precise control of advanced magic.

Urd could not help but reminisce for a moment about the admiration she had felt as a child to her mother. Her heart trembled with that old feeling, and realized that now it was deeper. As an adult she realized that her admiration was justified.

She let sank that idea, and then began to analyze the situation. She examined the throne room; it was completely different from the last time she had been there. The place was overrun with demons; apparently most of the palace´s staff had been rescued. Hild looked at her daughter and in words almost inaudible to others she commented.

- That's guard of yours have been rescuing and bringing them over here. I think he managed to rescue most of them, I'm sure he will return soon with more.

At that moment, despite Hild´s magic, Urd could felt vibrations in the floor that reminded them that they were being attacked with incredibly powerful magic. Maybe even Hild´s magic could not resist forever especially if the safety of the palace had been compromised. Even Hild, who had plans for contingencies for contingencies, had not planned something like this: To be attacked by her own powerful guards.

Then they heard an alarm, and a tunnel appeared in one of the walls, it was Bragg and was followed by another group of staff demons who had been just rescued. They were battered, seemed they just had a big fight but fortunately they did not seem wounded. Hild did not remove the barrier that blocked the tunnel, instead examined carefully the guard.

Urd understood her mother and came near the entrance, where Bragg responded with a nod and a smile. Urd smiled, none of the infected guards would be able to that, so she told her mother.

- Okay, you can let them in, I recognize Bragg.

Hild raised her eyebrows with resignation that was almost comical and commented:

- Unfortunately, he is identical to the other guards, and at this time we should be very careful, I still cannot sense the difference, except for some reason he is still loyal. I was tempted to turn him into something else, but maybe his identity can be used to our advantage.

Then with an elegant and energetic gesture she removed the barrier. The group of demons came in; there was a mix of fear and relief on them. The presence of other demons was reassuring, but some of them could not help to notice Urd´s Valkyrie marks and spare her an accusing look. As soon as the group was inside, Hild rose the barrier again. Though some demons from the group felt nervous at being so near Hild and so near that strange being that held demon and Valkyrie marks. To know she was Hild's daughter did not help.

Meanwhile Bragg came before Hild, knelt and said in his deep voice.

- Milady Hild, this was the last group, I do not think anyone else is alive. Unfortunately I had no time before to introduce myself. I'm Bragg, third seat of the second cohort of the palace guard, currently assigned to the care of my litl... err, I mean, to Princess Urd and I remain faithful to you. Now I am ready to present my full report:

Hild interrupted him with an energetic gesture and examined him with curiously, then realized something, looked at Urd and asked.

-Urd did you give him one of your potions?

Urd nodded, had hoped to keep this as her secret, but there was now something more important to think about:

-Yes, apparently it was a side effect of my potion that prevented him from being infected.

Without interrupting her slow dance, Hild continued examining him, then asked Urd:

- So you removed the mental block. Those potions of yours seemed to be more powerful that I have given credit for. What else have you altered?

-The loyalty lock. - At Urd´s words, Hild raised an eyebrow as her only expression of surprise and wondered:

-But without that spell, how is it that he obeys you?, I would have changed the loyalty lock to be loyal only to you instead of me – Said Hild with and accusing tone.

Urd could not help laughing.

- Mother, there are things more powerful than spells to make them obey you. Loyalty must be earned, not imposed.

A flash of anger at that claim crossed Hild's eyes, but did not answered. Instead, she put her hand on Bragg, who was still kneeling and proceeded to examine his with his magic. The powerful demon could not help but shudder, he knew that he was an anomaly at the eyes of Hild and as such he could be trashed with a simple gesture. Hild closed her eyes to read his mind and then a mischievous smile appeared on her face...

-At least in this case you are right, he is completely true to: "His little Princess"...

Urd clenched her teeth at her mother's mocking tone but did not counter, by now she was used to that game, so only answered with a reproachful look. But this battle of wills was interrupted by another deep voice; it was Wotan, who had been examining a data screen while ignoring the conflict in front of him. He had cried triumphantly;

- I got it! I think I can understand what happened, it was a happy accident. As reported by Walharen, the infection came through the encrypted energy channels and that encryption is part of the loyalty lock. By eliminating this, Bragg cannot use that energy and so he has been using the same sources of power as us. It's like a gamble. Instead of being surely infected as the rest of the guards, he now has the same chance of infection of all of us.

Urd turned to the sage and commented...

- Interesting, maybe we can use it to our advantage- then she asked the guard- Bragg, you told me that there are 2000 guards suspended. How and where are they?

- They are in suspended animation at the lowest level of the palace, just in case fresh troops are required.

Urd digested the information, and then looked at her mother. She had an idea, but she would need her mother´s help.

- If they are suspended, it´s unlikely they are infected, if we remove the loyalty lock, they will be in our favor.

- Remove the seal of loyalty? - Hild exclaimed angered- I will not let you do that to my bodyguards. How will you guarantee their loyalty? We must use a different spell for blocking the infection.

Marler, who had been silent suddenly, spoke with emotion:

- Milady Hild, I humbly offer my opinion. Those demons voluntarily chose to serve for you, to be an elite guard, they are the highest ranking position and have the utmost prestige in our world. They and their families are proud of belonging to your guard. Forcing their loyalty with magic is really unnecessary.

Hild did not answer immediately. Hild had never cared if people respect her as long as they fear her, and not to trust anyone had been the key for surviving for so many millenniums, but in the recent days, she found there were people loyal to her not by fear, but by respect of her actions. That was something totally unexpected, yet she owed her life to that loyalty, still this was a step she was not ready to take. To remove the loyalty lock! But somehow Marler words had impressed her. Meanwhile Marler had been immersed in her own train of thought to the point she forgot Hild´s presence, then spoke aloud without realizing it.

- If we use Urd´s potion and wake those guards... still they are 2,000 against 3,000 infected, but maybe with the right strategy we can account for the numerical difference...

Urd put a fierce smile on at Marler´s words. A wild and risky plan was her style, and then looked at her mother who bore a similar smile, Hild laughed and caused Marler to jump at realizing what she had said, and then Hild commented in a sly tone:

- Apparently Marler sees no problem in going across 17 security levels before reaching the suspended guards. If that's the case, I approve your plan but you may need a little help from my part, so first we must take these people to safety. - Marler felt stunned at realizing Urd and Hild had approved her plan. Hild addressed Urd:

- Urd, can you take my place for a moment? Even I find it difficult to maintain the shield while transporting them with Walharen, he also has a transport block that I must deal before.

Urd opened her mouth to protest, then said nothing, she realized that it was up to her before they were able to continue with the plan. But she was not sure she could manage that magic level. She realized many lives depend on her capabilities, that was something to take into account, so she answered

- Mother, I will do it, but I must warn you, I am not sure how much time I can keep it up. - Urd had realized that she had to be frank at her abilities; she would not put lives in danger just because she was boasting. Instead of the rebuke she expected, her mother made a bow to her and said.

I'm sure that will be enough. - Then raised her voice that came rumbling as a thunder in the room - All must be prepared to be transport to safety. My daughter and my Druhting will help to get my palace back. Everyone go to the front door, I will open a portal.

Most of the group went obediently to the door, but a small group remained that included the old healer, Wotan and a strange assortment of demons. They went in front of her and put one knee on the floor. The old healer spoke for all of them.

- Great Daimakaicho, we are not soldiers, but we cannot let you fight alone. None of you should put your lives at risk, instead use our lives as you need.

This time it was Hild who felt a lump in her throat. Again, a group of demons were offering to risk their lives for her. Maybe Urd and Marler were right and loyalty was something that should not be imposed but earned. In the world of Hell a silent revolution was starting.

* * *

Again the Valkyries had formed a circle around Belldandy, but this time they had also called their angels out, since this time they would not be fighting but using complex and accurate magic. Their torn uniforms contrasted with the purity of the creatures floating over them. There was a dreamlike scene, the rough beauty of the worn out Valkyrie and the sublime beauty of their angels.

Lind was sitting on the floor in front of Belldandy and had already begun chanting softly to enter a trance. She should be able to release her full awareness from her physical body before going into the mind of Belldandy. That would be difficult not only because she was a top notch goddess, but also because when she was raised to the Kamisama dignity, the system had installed a firewall into her mind. That barrier, much more complex and advanced that even the one that protected Yggdrasil should have protected her and that was one of Lind´s worries. The alternative was that the strange entity that seemed to have invaded Belldandy´s mind had been there before they had been declared Kamisama. A suspicion had begun to form in Lind mind, but there was only one way to find out. She interrupted her chant, took a deep breath and finally exclaimed.

- I'm ready!

Herja nodded, but could not prevent to hesitate before going on. They were about to try to do something that nobody had ever dared to try: penetrate the mind of Kamisama, the utmost authority of their universe. That was one of the greatest crimes that might exist in their world, but they had nothing to lose after having not only dared to challenge her authority, but imprisoned her. Yet the weight of millions of years of discipline was heavy on her mind, suddenly Herja had a funny idea that gave her strength to continue:

- Lind, thanks to you our world will never forget us... yet I never expected to be remembered as a criminal.

* * *

**End of Chapter XXVIII**


	29. Chapter 29: A light in the desert

_**I offer you an apology for the time it took me to finish this chapter,  
unfortunatelly I had too much work to do. **_

_We still have a good way to go together and I'd like to hear your opinion_  
_since an author lives thanks to the comments of his readers._  
**Yours  
Elnauhual**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights.**

_By Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXIX

**A light in the desert**

Lind was floating in an absolute nothingness, she had been separated from her physical body along with her senses and now she was now a pure consciousness separated from matter, unable to see, feel or touch. It was an isolation so absolute that it could lead to madness to a feeble mind. In vain she tried to move and feel arms and legs that no longer exists. However, she knew that there was still a tie with her physical body and it was a bond that was important to keep open, that's what the other Valkyrie were doing. Belldandy's mind had been reinforced as part of the change to become Kamisama, and in order overcome that mighty barrier the Valkyrie were using all their power to keep open a small crack. If it would broke, her conscience would be separated from her body and lost forever. This would leave a mind with all its memories, but without consciousness, .

Even with that risk she did not hesitate to move forward, she stopped trying to feel anything with a nonexistent body and began to focus and feel directly with her mind. She needed to find a contact point to Belldandy´s mind. She felt a distant and distorted echo of her own thoughts. Belldandy´s mind had perceived her and was reacting. They were too full of noise but she could feel in the response, a deep hostility toward her presence. The rejection grew and she began to move toward it, as if she were swimming against a stream of thoughts. It was difficult but she fought against that current using all her will to fight, and thus gradually she proceeded deeper into Belldandy´s mind. As she advanced toward the source of those thoughts, the dark yielded as a ghostly light began to surround her and her body began to form, but this was not her real body but an illusion created from Belldandy's memories, after all in this place Belldandy´s mind and memories was the only reality possible.

As her new body materialized in this place she began to be able to see and feel her surroundings. She looked down at herself and could not help a slight gasp. She floated naked in the middle of a cloudy nothingness. With curiosity she checked her new body, she knew it was and it was not her body. She meditated a moment on this apparent enigma until she realized what was happening. This body had been formed from Belldandy´s image of her, and for her she was not one of the most powerful Valkyrie, nor was the commander of the elite squad. For her insignia or rank meant little. To Belldandy she was a goddess and woman not valued by her titles, but only for what she was. Curiously she examined her body, it was slightly younger, smoother, was more ... Feminine? Lind took the luxury of a merry laugh at seeing how Belldandy looked at her. Unfortunately in this incarnation she had no power and would not be able to fight whatever was invading the goddess´s mind. She had to go deeper into the goddess´s memories to recover her full form.

Finally she felt she stopped floating and her feet gently touched a hard surface. At first she only saw an infinite plain, which gradually began to fill with "things". Those things should be Belldandy´s thoughts and memories, and she hoped that her body would start to take form from Belldandy´s more recent memories, yet nothing happened.

She looked around puzzled, she was already into Belldandy´s mind and should be seeing the flood of memories, sensations and feelings that make a mind, but everything was hazy around her, those barely distinguishable elements that should be her memories. Sticky mists surrounded and clouded them.

Lind approached a group of objects, but the fog did not back down, instead it seemed as if it wanted to cover and devour her. Lind then muttered a spell, she was not sure if it would work, but maybe an old fashioned verbal spell could invoke some magic here. To her relieve it worked and once completed, she used it to petrify the fog. The fog near her seemed to become old and worn rock. With a blow of her fist she attempted breaking it.

She screamed in pain at the impact, she had not realized her current body was too soft. The petrified fog did not yield and yet she felt as if her hand bones had been broken, still a few cracks appeared, so ignoring the pain Lind struck again. Some petrified fragments of mist began to fall and behind them bright memories emerged illuminating the place.

She heard a moan, as if the freed memories were hurting someone and then there was a tremor that shocked everything around her. Suddenly her battle-axe appeared in her hand!. Apparently this part of Belldandy´s memory was freed. Then she understood.

Belldandy's memories were her most powerful weapon to combat this alien consciousness. So it´s way to weaken her had been to block and hide her memory. Now she had to release it so Belldandy could regain her strength.

She looked around at the vast landscape that seemed to go to the infinity that was Belldandy´s mind. She felt tiny but that would not intimidate her, so she smiled and grabbed her ax and with determination began to attack the mist. The mist tried to engulf her, but she attacked it. It was a battle fiercer than anything she had fought before since her body was soft and weak, but her efforts gave fruits, slowly the place started to fill with light and as more memories were freed, her uniform, her goddess marks and finally her Valkyrie powers began to return.

* * *

Protected within its shelter at the top of the hill, the man took a sip of water and continued his watch. Although the full midday sun was shining in the semi-desert site, the shelter allowed him enough protection, he just needed patience and that was something he had plenty. His name was Giorgio Vaglia, and had begun his career as a photographer for wildlife documentaries, but was now he was using that experience in order to observe the strangest animals of all: "human beings".

His patience and experience to pass unnoticed had paid off in the past and this would be no exception.

A few hours ago, an old jeep had brought a prisoner- she was a young, small and thin girl, which they dealt with a brutal way as if trying to intimidate her. Giorgio had felt powerless against what he saw, but he knew he could not do anything except record and let the world know what was happening. There was nothing else to do except to observe and wait. Some hour after, when the sun began to touch the horizon, he sensed unusual movement in the small town so he prepared to record.

From the building that housed the old school a group of men erupted. They dragged two women; one seemed to be the girl they had brought before. Giorgio quickly focused his powerful tele-photo lens and began recording the details. He swallowed hard when he confirmed it was the girl they had brought prisoner. He had seen prisoners taken out suddenly at the brink of the night before; usually it was the prelude to an execution.

He tried to take a good image of her face. It showed evidence of being beaten, her clothes were torn and there were bruises throughout her body. Still, she walked upright and proud. The other woman appeared to be from the village and seemed to be so terrified that she was unable to move, so she was dragged from one place to another. The group of men forced them to move to the vehicles. The man that appeared to be the leader gave orders and the vehicles jumped into full speed. They were taken to an open area near a rocky promontory, a few kilometers from the village. Some men left the vehicles, but the leader stayed with the girl. Giorgio clenched his teeth when suddenly the girl was knocked out of the vehicle by a brutal blow. Apparently she had refused to do something. Then the man took a gun and put it on the head of the other woman. The girl got up slowly, looked at the man and finally nodded helplessly. But her subsequent actions do not seem to make sense.

Two men got her into the jeep and took her almost a kilometer away into the dry plain, away from the promontory; meanwhile the men took the other vehicles behind the rock as if they were taking shelter. The vehicle with the girl stopped in a clearing and under the supervision of men, she descended and from a wooden box she took something that seemed to be small. At that distance it was impossible for Giorgio to see what it was, but he judged it as not larger than a matchbox. Carefully placing it on a rock she get back to the vehicle and the group returned with her to get behind the promontory. After a brief discussion with the men, she peered over the rock to see the object she had left behind, then extended her noticed as if she were trying to hid what she was doing from the other men, but it was almost impossible see what it was, darkness had begun to invade the place, then something like a ray of light came out of her hand toward the small object she had left behind.

And suddenly the night became day. Giorgio shouted at being dazzled by this sudden dawn, luckily he was watching the scene through the camera LCD viewfinder otherwise he would have been blinded. The light continued a few seconds and began to fade. Soon after, the shock wave of a powerful explosion arrived and almost tore out the roof of his hideout. Giorgio cursed, he tried to record the scene but realized the CCD of his camera had been burned out, so he could not see anything. As the shock wave faded, he quickly sought another of his cameras, but he had to stand up to search it faster. Giorgio then look at the sky and screamed in terror. The landscape was dominated by something he had never expected to get to see up so close. It was the ominous mushroom cloud that had been part of humanity's nightmares for half a century.

* * *

Keiichi heard the alarm from the coffee maker and went to the kitchen, where he was assaulted by the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee. That scent seemed completely out of place, as he was used to Belldandy´s delicate tea blends; it felt like an invasion but he could not fail to recognize that there was something exciting in the aroma, after some hesitation he took out some cooking appliances and proceeded to prepare a Western-style lunch. Fortunately Shugahara had given him some basic cooking lessons at a level that he could understand and he was good at following exact instructions, but was not sure that Belldandy would approve seeing cooking as an engineering problem.

At the end he stopped to appreciate his culinary work and smiled satisfied, then emptied the fresh coffee into a thermos jar which helped contain the aromatic scent that threatened to invade the temple, for a moment Keiichi had felt distressed when the subtle aromas that remind him of Belldandy's presence seemed to disappear, but gradually they began to return and he relaxed. Then he remembered that Belldandy always respected the rules of hospitality, so that was the least he could do for his visitor. While preparing a tray with the breakfast, he began to think on his plans for the day.

So far everything had been easier than he had expected. Galileo had researched into the computer files from the "Ceramic Society of Japan "and located a small industrial plant of ceramic industrial products near Chiba that wore the ostentatious name: "Nikkato Corp". They were having financial problems. Competition with Korean products was about to make them close and they had practically jumped with joy at the chance to make a new ceramic product for CERN, even if they had no idea what it was for.

With Galileo´s help he had been able to analyze their production line and with minimal alterations, he had pointed to them to the necessary modifications. Keiichi could not deny that he had enjoyed the process of modifying and optimizing their processes. Galileo had allowed him to do simulations of the process before finding the optimal combination and now the plant manager, who initially had made obvious his contempt at that junior engineer, now was all flattery to that "brilliant young engineer" who was about to save its plant.

Keiichi smiled, he could get used to that. Being praised by a senior engineer, especially in Japan, was quite an experience!. Thanks to that, if all went well, that afternoon they could do the first trial runs and perhaps he could deliver the goods before the time promised to Lind. Then his smile faded and he froze for a moment, he had remembered that he could not communicate with Lind or Belldandy, Galileo had been searching in vain, and it was as if she had disappeared along with Belldandy. He asked aloud:

- Galileo, did you find something?

A gentle deep voice answered him; the sound came out from the cell phone that Dr Shugahara had given him for staying in contact. Galileo had learned to use all the communication equipment from earth and now seemed to move without restriction between them. Although Keiichi had discovered that with some extra effort he could communicate mentally with the new consciousness thanks to the "software" that it had installed on him, he felt more comfortable with more traditional methods of communication.

- Sorry Keiichi-san. - Said the voice- Although now I have full access to Heaven's communication systems, I was unable to locate them. Skuld is worried because she also does not know anything about them, she is also trying to locate them but since Belldandy is now Kamisama, information on her whereabouts is strongly restricted.

Keiichi closed his fists helplessly. He had hoped that after Galileo had gained conscious, communication would have been easier, but the problems did not seem to end and he began to fear the worst.

- Have you been able to locate Urd?

-I located her in Hild´s palace, the communication channels are open, but there is no answer, I only got a personal message left for Shugahara from Urd-san, but no direct contact, apparently there is a new insanity outbreak and their priority is to counter it. I find it particularly worrisome that I also lost communication with the sages who were working together with Dr Shugahara-san and the people from Chiba to find a cure. There had been a constant flow of communication between them and the Chiba University. Now I'm trying to access their files, they were very optimistic about achieving something soon. According to information they sent to me, is exactly the same kind of attack as the one that attacked heaven. If they achieve a cure for demons, is likely it will also be applied to gods.

Keiichi was shaken at the news. Urd and Belldandy were out of touch even though both were now in positions of great power and influence that did not bode well. He could not help expressing his concern aloud.

- What else can we do? I feel useless.

- Keiichi-san! - the voice said calmly -My suggestion is to go ahead with the bracelets manufacture, even if they find a cure, it will not prevent infection. Many depend on you Keiichi-san.

Keiichi nodded. He knew it, but it was comforting to hear it from somebody else. He had already finished preparing the tray when he heard voices. It was Professor Srivapati and Somasindu. They would go with him to Nikkato Corp´s plant. To have a senior, a respected professor from a big medical university from abroad, along him had made easier to make him accepted by the employees, and along Somasindu they were now very popular along then, specially the old staff. Somasindu had an uncanny ability at finding medical problem and solutions. Keiichi sighted. With the prospect of doing something he forgot his doubts. So far he had always been useless to protect Belldandy and now he still had trouble realizing that his knowledge could eventually be useful. He was going to put all his will in this task. Now he picked up the food tray to deliver it to his guest, the day would be long.

* * *

A burly palace guard walked down a long, dark hallway. Despite being in the deepest parts of the palace, the powerful magic of its builders had made with a spacious place surrounded with stone walls overloaded with ornaments, fake architectural motifs and ancient runes crudely carved like most places in this world.

However for an inhabitant of this world, those decorations said something else. They were very old themes and motifs. This place should be one of the oldest places from Hell. But the guard was not paying attention to any of that, instead he focused his attention on his prisoner. With brutality he was forcing an old demon to walk. The prisoner had torn clothes and dark bruises on his skin. The guard brutally beat him every time he stopped.

After a long journey, where they were ignored but passing guards, they went near a guard that was guarding an elaborate portal. The guard smiled cruelly at the state of the prisoner, without saying anything he approached the prisoner and gave him a blow that crashed him against the wall. The first guard grunted in disgust. - Do not kill him; I need him to cross to the next level.

He only got a laugh as answer, but the guard stepped aside to let him pass. With difficulty the prisoner stood up and glared at the two guards.

- He still wants to fight, but that would not last long. - Said the first guard- When we finish with it I can leave him to you.

The guard at the door grunted with satisfaction at the thought and showed him the way to go.

Guard and prisoner moved down to another long hallway wrapped in darkness to finally arrive to an imposing overly decorated door. In front of it four guards fought each other without getting any damage. Apparently they wanted to see who was the strongest and did not care about the havoc they cause. Large blocks of stone had been detached from the walls as result of their power, yet stopped their fight at seeing the newcomer.

- What are you doing with a prisoner? They are all traitors and must die.

- I need him to go through that door. You have not even managed to weaken it; instead you are wasting your time fighting amongst yourselves.

- Wasting time? - Growled the largest of the guards who are you to say it? I'll show you what it is to lose something, maybe an arm or a leg. - Without warning he launched an attack against the newcomer. The other guards took a placed behind him to see the outcome of the forthcoming fight.

Suddenly the prisoner left his submissive attitude and quickly moved behind two demons with a speed that could only come from the advanced use of magic; he put the palm of his hands against the demons back and shouted a powerful spell. The two demons froze, and slowly crumbled unconscious to the ground

Meanwhile, the demon that had brought him prisoner, prepared to receive his attacker, he barely seemed to move but he deftly dodged and before the attacker regained equilibrium he threw a powerful blow to base of the neck, their most vulnerable point, leaving him senseless the attacker fell to the floor with surprised look.

The remaining guard growled fiercely and jumped to catch the prisoner, but again the old demon moved with unusual agility and simply touched his attacker fist repeating his previous spell and the fierce demon fell to the ground.

His "captor" looked at the old demon in surprise, but soon his surprise became a grin:

I thought that only my little princess Urd was able to defeat an elite guard so easily, I really did not expect an...

- An old demon like me to beat them? - The old demon laughed with a tone that had an air of mischief - It's just an old spell that sometimes I have to use with difficult patients, nothing important. High-level demons never are good patients so we must compel them to receive their treatments.

- I am not sure if I would like to be one of your patients, besides I do not think lady Hild would be pleased to know you have that ability, she would be very upset to found her guards are defeated so easily. - Then he looked around and his smile vanished from his face to be replaced by an expression of concern - Now you must heal your wounds, I tried not to cause you too much damage, but it was necessary to be convincing. Fortunately hereafter we no longer need to pretend.

The old demon growled contemptuously.

- It's nothing that a little healing magic would not fix; some pain is acceptable in the name of Hild-Sama. Also I cannot blame you for the treatment the other guards gave me. - The demon smiled, held out his hands and began an advanced healing magic spell to restore his hurt body. For the senior healer from Hild's palace that was trivial.

The guard commented after he finished.

- Now we must get the others out of their seals, we have some spare time we can use to treat the wounded.

He took some ornamental metal disks from one of his pockets and put them in the floor. The healer cast a new spell and from each disk a figure emerged. They were Urd and the rest of her strange squad of demons. Urd screamed in disgust.

- I hate being sealed!, even knowing that it will be for only a short time, it does not help much to make it tolerable.

From the look of her companions, it was obviously they felt the same and while they recovered, Urd took that moment to study her squad: An elite guard, an old healer, an expert in ancient chants and a couple of demons bureaucrats. She could not help laughing at the sight. One of the most protected places of Hild´s palace was being assaulted by this irregular group. This promised to be a very interesting experience, but her smile froze when she saw the state of the two young bureaucrats, they were inexperienced demons who had tried to get into a combat. She addressed them angrily.

- Ekur, Shulgi!

The young demons groaned plaintively, one of them had an extensive burn on one arm and appeared to be about to lose consciousness; still he struggled to overcome it and replied:

- Urd-Sama, please excuse our stupidity, we are only assistant librarians and besides... - The young man seemed to be astonished that Urd, no less than Hild´s daughter could remember his name, for it was normal for his superiors to forget it.

- Ekur, that is not the problem, now listen to me! , I know who you are and so I do not expect you to fight. You two have a valuable purpose to fulfill and should not risk your lives. - Urd's eyes flashed with fire and the demons were silent in fear at the wrath that reflected - So pay attention, and the same for all of you.- she looked around- I do not want heroes, the next one who tries to risk his life trying to protect me, will have the honor to be killed by myself. - Urd slowly turned around and everyone lowered his gaze unable to meet her furious eyes - Got it!

- B...B... Bu... But milady Urd! - Ekur dared to say- Hild-Sama told us...

- No matter what my mother told you, it´s all right if you are willing to die, but you will not do it while I'm in charge of this group. No one should risk his live in exchange for mine. - Urd slightly raised her voice, yet somehow it was enough that even the old and proud demon swallowed hard at her tone- I will not tolerate it! - Then Urd added slowly- That's an order!.

Everyone nodded in fear and disbelief at the Urd´s words, but knowing that she valued their lives only reinforced their intentions to sacrifice for her. Urd closed her eyes for a moment, under those circumstances she could recall easily a distant battlefield on earth, almost a thousand years ago. She still recalled the stench of blood, the mutilated bodies by the combat, empty eyes staring at the sky from people she had known and who had died because of her. She had promised herself that no one else would die because of her, but she knew that not even Bragg could understand her motives. The latter was smiling at the intensity of Urd´s words, he was proud that his princess was proving to be a capable leader.

Urd continued giving orders:

-Elder, - She changed her tone to show some respect to the old demon - be sure to heal them well, we have little time to recover. - Then she looked at the elegant demon who accompanied them.

- Wotan, it's time to use your talents. Apparently those - she pointed to the fallen demons- tried to force their way and surely they activated the door´s defenses. That means that the door will not accept direct orders for several hours and we cannot wait. This door and its magic is very old, you're the expert, and you said that you helped to build it.

Wotan smiled mischievously; the opportunity to demonstrate his talents was something that rarely occurred. Then, to everyone's surprise, he walked, not to the door but to the wall beside it. Then began an old song, a song that did not appear to contain any magic.

-Gengr Hildr vefa ok Hjörþrimul, Sanngríðr, Svipul, sverðum tognum:

Urd raised an eyebrow, that was an old song dedicated to Hild. Her mother had insisted that she memorized it: "Hild began to spin her plans, and **Hjörþrimul, Svipul** **Sanngríðr** would emerge with swords." She had memorize it easily because the ridiculous image of her mother knitting something, only much later she would learn the kind of things her mother weaved were not something to laugh at. She was lost in her thoughts for a moment when, to her surprise, she realized Wotan was smiling at her and with comic movement of his hands he was telling her to continue. Urd closed her eyes to remember that song, then she sang with her beautiful voice.

-skarpt mun gnesta, skjöldr mun bresta, mun hjalmgagarr í hlíf koma.

So, Hild had used that song as a password for this door! Urd herself had used a snippet of that song for her own magic medallions: "The spear will be broken, the shield will break and the sword will pierce the armor." Now she understood and that explained her mother's laughter when she had sent her to this place without saying the password. Urd stood still a moment to think about the latter. What other hidden information had Hild given to her? She meditated, and recalled the names from the song: Hjörþrimul, Sanngríðr, and Svipul? Urd smiled at finding the answer, those should be the names of the leaders of backup army. She had to locate them first.

Urd was distracted from her thoughts when the wall began to form a giant door, unlike most doors in Hell it was not very elaborate but extremely large and she could sense it emanated a very powerful defensive magic. Wotan smiling explained, pointing to the shattered door aside.

-That was a false door, behind it there is only more rock. It was my idea when they were designing this place, the important thing is that only a person from the current reigning house can open it- Then Wotan bowed respectfully to Urd and said - Urd-Sama, please just open it.

Urd could not help laughing, that pompous demon had hinted before that they needed some kind of special magic to open the door, but all they need was an old song and a common command.

Urd raised her hand in a simple gesture, the same she used to open any door from the palace, it could not be simpler.

The door gave a brief flash directed toward her; apparently it was checking her identity and immediately opened. Behind it, they could see thousands of crystalline forms, each one containing a body. They were the reserve guard.

- Ekur, Shulgi! - She called the two assistants - you know the filling system used in the palace, you must first locate and identify Hjörþrimul, Sanngríðr and Svipul. They are the three leaders of the guard. Take the healer to them so he can apply the antidote for the loyalty spell. Then break their suspension and wake them up, give them the orders that you have already memorized. Then they will help you to wake up the rest using the same procedure.

The two young demons nodded and prepared to enter the gigantic room but Urd stopped them with a gesture.

- Wait, you have forgotten that you have no authority to give orders to the reserve squadron leaders. - With a mischievous smile, she stepped forward and placed the palms of her hands on the astonished demons. Urd then did something she had sworn never to do. Invoking her authority as Hild's daughter and future Daimakaicho. Using a coded spell she had heard from her mother she modified their rank. Upon completion the marks on the faces of the young demons had changed. - I have appointed you as supreme commanders of the army of Hell. Only Hild, Marler and I are above you, so please be careful on the orders you give to the guards.

The young demon touched their face stunned, while Urd laughed at them, but she was interrupted by a rapid series of small explosions that could be heard behind them.

Urd turned around and just in time to see a group of one hundred guards materialize and they were looking at her with wild eyes.

- They have discovered us earlier than planned- said Urd- Hurry! Go on and do your duty! After you finished, find a safe access terminal and report to Hild.

- But Urd-Sama, you have to come with...

-I can't do it- she pointed to the guards that were materializing. - If they enter there all is lost, I have to stay and delay them so you have time, now all depend on you!, Now run!

After some hesitation, the two young demons and the healer ran through the door, Urd then turned to look at her other companions.

- Wotan, Bragg, enter and then I will seal the door.

Wotan answered back with a haughty look.

- Urd-Sama. I am sorry to inform you that not one of us will obey that order. If we survive you may apply to us any punishment you may considered appropriate. - Bragg smiled approving his words - I may be old, but this is a good opportunity to try some ancient spells that I've always been curious to try.

Urd not tried to protest, she knew that alone she would not survive for long, at least with the help of those two rebels they could gain a little more time. Meanwhile more guards were appearing, but they did not try to attack, it seemed they expected more of them to arrive to overrun her by sheer numbers. Urd bowed at her rebel demons and with a gesture locked the gigantic door. Then she turned slowly to face the enemy, and said.

- I am the strongest, I will draw their attention so they attack me first. Wotan, I have no doubt about your knowledge, but I know you will need time to cast any advance spell. I will give you as much time as I can and Bragg would will block anything that goes behind my shield.

Wotan gave her a skeptic look.

- Urd-Sama, How will you attract their attacks? I do not think they would accept an invitation...

Urd´s face was illuminated with a wild grin that reminded them of her mother, then raised her arm and used her magic to change her outfit. Her mixed goddess and demon dress was replaced by a simple yet elegant combat uniform that shocked Wotan as he recognized it and instinctively adopted a defensive position. Urd was wearing the uniform of one of the most formidable enemies of Hell. Urd smirked at his reaction

- I do not think any of them would refuse the opportunity to attack a Valkyrie.

* * *

Dr Shugahara and Sentaro-kun were in the middle of a busy European airport. The child looked embarrassed and astonished at the seemly random activity and at the sight of so many people from different nationalities. The number of questions per minute he was asking was about to exceed even Shugahara's capacity, yet he answered them willingly. He liked the healthy curiosity of the child. Suddenly, halfway through a question his face darkened and he stayed silent. Sentaro asked him worried.

- Is something wrong?

- I am not sure, I felt a deep anguish. - Said Shugahara, taking his hand to his chest - It's like a premonition, something about Urd. I never believed before in that stuff, but after all I have lived now I think this may be real.

Without another word, he took his cell phone and sent a short text message. BA few seconds later they heard

A deep and gentle voice coming out of his cell.

- Shugahara - San, how can I serve you?

- Can you connect me with Urd? I have a feeling that something is wrong.

- I'm sorry, but it is impossible, Hild's palace is under attack. The palace bodyguard has been infected.

Shugahara bit his lip worriedly. - Do you have any information on her?

- I have retrieved a message she left for you at the system with instructions that it was just for you to hear. It seemed she was unable to send it. If you put on your headphones, it will play it for you.

Under Sentaro´s puzzled look, Shugahara quickly looked for the cell headphone to hear the message. The message was not too long and after a few minutes, a slightly flushed Shugahara slowly took off the headphones. Sentaro began a barrage of questions but Shugahara took some time to react, and then faced the children.

- Sorry, it's just that I wish so much to be with Urd. She is about to do something very dangerous to save her world. - He sighed deeply moved, then reached under his coat and touched Urd´s medallion. He felt some comfort as if it were a link with her. Whether it was his imagination, or was really magic, at the touch he could feel her presence and relaxed. - Seems all I can do now is trust her, but I cannot help fretting, if only I could be with her. But we have a plan to follow.

- But what else did she tell you?

- Ah ha! She told me some plans for us when she returns, but I think you'll have to wait several years before I can tell you about them. - The boy looked puzzled but did not dare say more - now we have to take a flight, and I think it will be less comfortable than the previous one, it´s a much smaller plane.

Shugahara headed to a boarding gate, but could help but bore a beatific smile.

* * *

Lind moved advanced in the strange landscape and as she forced back the fog line, she felt her powers return, but she had lost the sense of time, and didn't know how many hours had passed, so she began to feel concern. She knew the Valkyrie should be at the limit of their strength and felt she was not progressing fast enough.

At the thought she gave a battle cry and with her ax struck fiercely against the fog, releasing another segment of Belldandy's memories, but in doing it she again heard a cry of pain. This time it was much clearer.

She stopped, maybe now she could find the source, she turned around and attacked another line of fog, she heard the scream and advance toward it. As she began to clear another section she found something that looked like a path, she stopped and listened with care, this time she heard there was also a soft moan, as if someone were under constant pain.

She focused her attack to clear the path, and noticed that this time the fog offered more resistance. Maybe it was a sign that she was on the right track and she redoubled her efforts. Again and again, she attacked the fog, but this time it seemed to refuse to back down but eventually did. The path was released and was transforming. Now instead of the gloomy place, her surroundings began to turn into a beautiful garden, but it was not the well planned gardens of heaven, it was more simple and elegant. Lind recognized it with a surprise; it was the garden from the Tarikihongan temple. Lind smiled, that made sense. For Belldandy the temple was her home, so her conscience should not be far away from it. She continued attacking the fog and as result she could see a familiar structure. It was the main hall of the temple. Lind stooped and clenched her fist, as a she felt a powerful and terrible pain emanating from the temple. Her heart anguished and without thinking she ran inside only to stop in horror.

In the middle of the enclosure she could see Belldandy's naked body. It was pierced in several places by sharp crystals of greenish sickly color, that nailed her to the floor so she was unable to move. From that broken body came the constant wail of pain. Then Lind saw the fog return as if it tried to regain its prey. She raised her ax and attacked, but immediately stopped.

By attacking the fog a new crystal formed and cruelly pierced Belldandy's body. The goddess cried out in pain.

Lind screamed horrified, she realized that she was the one who had been tormenting the goddess. Belldandy seemed to hear her voice and with utmost difficulty she slowly turned her face to see her. Lind shuddered at the sight of those clear blue eyes filled with tears of pain. But then Belldandy making an effort, smiled with hope in her eyes. She began gasping and tried to tear away to get free from the crystals. But they only dug deeper into her body.

Lind shouted - No, please, do not fight; you will only hurt yourself. I must find a way to free you harmlessly.

But Belldandy continued fighting ignoring the damage being caused to her, gasped and said- Help me to get free, you have gone so far, fear not to cause me more pain, the pain of having caused injury to others is much worse than the pain I'm feeling. Please release me!

Lind hesitated; the goddess to whom she had sworn eternal friendship was suffering so cruelly on her behalf, she wished to scream. After a few hesitating seconds, she raised her ax and prepared to concentrate all her power in the fog that threatened to return to engulf the goddess body.

This time she open herself to feel Belldandy´s pain and drew more strength from her despair. She screamed at the top of her lungs and savagely attacked the fog that seemed to writhe like a living thing, and continued even as she saw the goddess's body writhe as more crystals formed, digging deeply into her, threatening to tear out her defenseless body. Belldandy made inhuman efforts to endure her pain, but could not help but to cry out in agony, still yelling at Lind- Please, do not stop!

Lind's eyes filled with tears, tears that were a terrible in a warrior goddess and with redoubled fury at her torment friend she redoubles her efforts.

The fog began to solidify and come alive. As if trying to get reinforcements, a rush of fog from all around the place began to concentrate, and contract as an evil serpent, then it began to take form as the crystals that pierce Belldandy began to dissolve called by the new form. The fog slowly began to take human form.

The humanoid form began to convulse and emitted a piercing pain scream as it was unable to stand Lind´s fierce attack. It seemed as if Belldandy´s pain was being transferred to that being. It´s screams echoes along the place, since unlike Belldandy it was not trying to fight the pain.

Finally it was fully materialized; it stumbled and fell prostrate on the floor. Everything exploded into light. It was as if Belldandy´s mind has been suddenly and completely released in one stroke, all her luminous and powerful memories were again free.

Lind ran to help Belldandy; she seemed to have lost her conscious. Lind examined her body. She still had the terrible injuries caused by the sharp crystals, her flesh was torn, and could feel her irregular breathing. Suddenly Belldandy´s body convulsed uncontrollably with the pain form her injuries.

Lind tightly embrace her body trying to control it, she could feel her pain and in desperation invoked what little restorative magic she knew. Gradually Belldandy's breathing began to regularize and the goddess opened her eyes. However she still trembled with pain, but with a terrible effort managed to say.

- Thanks Lind, you have released me. My conscience is again free.

Lind cried and said:

- But those wounds!, I do not know how to cure them!.

Belldandy smiled sweetly and said:

-Some of these wounds may never heal completely but they will not kill me, you have done something heroic, I'll appreciate it for a lifetime. - And then Belldandy started singing, it was a slow and sad song, full of magic, it help her to decrease her pain. Then she stopped and looked at Lind's pained face and made an effort to straighten her shattered body. Lind helped her and to her surprise Belldandy caressed her face and touched her tears. A tear stayed on her hand looking as a precious glowing jewell and said to Lind.

- Few gods know this, but there is only a magic powerful enough to heal a wounded soul: the tears of a goddess, especially from a goddess as strong as you, my dear friend Lind, I thank you for this.

Belldandy began a slow and beautiful melody and the tear on her hand began to shine and the brightness spread to cover the goddess body. Soon Lind joined her singing. Gradually Belldandy's body began to heal, but not completely, as Belldandy said, some scars would never disappear.

Lind could not tell how long they took, she only cared that Belldandy was recovering. Finally Belldandy materialized her clothing and emblems that identified her as the leader of this world. Her face recovered her peaceful look, but a shade of pain still remained on her blue eyes. Somehow that pain gave her a more royal presence. She was again Kamisama.

Belldandy now had the strength to get up, recovering her full dignity and Lind could not help but try to make a respectful bow to her superior but Belldandy stopped her from doing it. Her sweet smile was back and was more powerful than any command.

Lind finally breathed deeply as she felt relieved, but still there was something very important to do.

- We must find out what attacked you! I knew it was not the same madness that attacked other gods. - Then she pointed to the figure lying sprawled on the floor- apparently that being is the culprit and it seems to be a god.

Belldandy looked astonished at the body lying face down near the entrance of the temple as if it were trying to escape. It looked as the body of a young man and wore the rich garments of the members of the high council of the gods. - A board member? - Asked Lind How could he have entered into your mind?

Lind unceremoniously turned the body to see his face. It was a strangely familiar face. In his unconsciousness state he looked serene and exuded a certain dignity that seemed to correspond to his clothes, even if someone so young would never be part of the council. Lind examined him without understanding what it meant. By his marks this was a high-ranking god, or at least the avatar of one. What purpose could have made him to do all this?

Then Lind felt as Belldandy moved away and turned to see her. Belldandy's face was full of terror and she covered her mouth, as if trying not to scream. It took her a great effort to control herself. Lind looked at her in amazement, despite her suffering Belldandy always had retained control, but now it seemed like he was about to lose it. She looked back at the unknown god and then to Belldandy's face. She began to suspect something, so finally asked:

- Do you recognize him?

With a trembling voice Belldandy said in shock:

- It´s impossible! They always told me he was dead!

Belldandy began to breathe slowly trying to use a self control technique to keep calm. Slowly she returned to Lind´s side, watching the stranger's face. Then overcoming her fear, she touched the unconscious man and closed her eyes while trying to reach into his mind. Finally looked at Lind and with an awed voice slowly said - it´s my father!.

* * *

**End of chapter XXIX**


	30. Chapter 30 -Family Reunion

Sorry for the delay, but too much work stole me time to write,

But I hope you would consider it was worth the wait.

**Elnauhual**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

_By Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXX

**Family reunion.**

It was already noon when Giorgio heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Though they were expected, he looked around nervously. Even with many years of experience covering news, this time he could not help but feel a deep unease. The events of the previous day's were something completely outside his experience and now he could barely refrain from the desire to run screaming.

He heard a familiar voice whispering behind him.

- Giorgio, is everything okay? I heard some strange stories along the way, something about a huge explosion and strange lights in the sky.

Giorgio shuddered at the confirmation that it had not been an illusion, with a barely audible voice he replied:

- Thank God you came! We need to report to someone about what is happening here.

The newcomer answered with surprise:

- But I have not finished negotiating the price of the photos and videos!

Unable to contain himself, Giorgio laboriously dragged himself out from his hiding, trying not to expose himself, thus advanced a few meters until he meet the man who was waiting crouched, looking him straight in the eyes, still not daring to get up said anxiously.

- I do no longer care! this is too important!. I Still cannot believe what I saw yesterday, but I would swear it was a nuclear explosion.

- Nuclear?, - His partner could not help but express his disbelief - that's impossible. How can you be so sure?, From what I know about them - said pointing towards the town - they are so radical that no one would dare to sell them such material. What exactly did you see?, It´s the first time I've seen you so scared.

Giorgio looked around, He could hardly deny his fear.

- While I can not identify exactly what I saw, I know something about nuclear weapons and this is something completely new. The bomb or whatever it was, was extremely small, I could not see it, but it was not bigger than a pack of cigarettes, yet the blast had to be on the scale of kilotons.

His partner stared at him incredulously. - That's impossible. No nuclear device can be so small.

- I saw it and I have the recording!, the world must know what is happening, I do not care if no one pay us. Besides, they have been putting land mines around the town. That is something I know about, I have survived some. They laid mines of all kinds, most are unstable war leftovers so this area is very dangerous now, they are protecting themselves against something without caring about risking their own people!

His companion could not hide his amazement, despite their long collaboration, this time it was hard to believe his colleague words. Impatient at his disbelief and with nervous hands Giorgio took out the cameras memories from his pockets and handed them to him. His mate took them with skepticism. He proceeded to unpack the laptop he carried in his backpack. Under Giorgio´s impatient eyes, he powered on the machine, waited until the OS fully started and slowly inserted the camcorder flash memory. Impatiently, Giorgio pointed out one of the videos and played it.

The man watched the scene and his incredulity began to fade out when the huge flash of light played back at the computer screen... Slowly his skepticism was replaced with fear. At the end of the video, he froze and after some hesitation declared decisively:

- I will begin to send the information, you are right, this is too much for us.

He took off his backpack and unpacked a parabolic dish for a satellite Internet connection. With a speed derived from experience, within minutes located a satellite, established the link and connected to his laptop to the link. He took all the memory cards with videos and photos, in order to start the upload, but was interrupted by Giorgio, he gave him another memory of one of the digital cameras saying

- Send this first!.

Intrigued, the man took the memory card.

- What do you have in this memory.?

- I told you, They spent the morning mining the fields around the town. In other parts of the world I have seen what they can do, and I know clearing mines is costly in lives and money, especially with so unstable mines, so I photographed the position of all the mines as they laid them. The agency will not pay for it, but send it anyway, they should send it to the authorities.

His companion raised his eyebrows with an air of resignation, but said nothing. But he could not help thinking about the cost of their little operation and their limited resources.

He opened the link to their sponsoring agency and began to send the files. Even with compression they accounted for several gigabytes of information, it would take awhile to upload them, so he decided he could use some time and take a look at the site, at his request Giorgio nodded and led him behind some rocks that would allow him to watch without attracting attention.

Despite having seen it on video, reality was more shocking. There in the desert there was a crater and debris that testified the explosion´s power. Suddenly they heard the sound of motor vehicles approaching. They lay down, while Giorgio only raising his camera to record while both were watching the LCD display.

They could see the approach of a dozen vehicles, they were an assorted collection, old, ancient, new, battered and some barely usable. They stopped just before reaching the minefield, several men got out of the vehicles to signal to the men at the village. Soon several men left the village, but not by the main road, but zigzagging as if there was an invisible road, until they meet the newcomers. There was a lively discussion. After watching them for a moment, Giorgio´s mate began to stir and suddenly said.

- Can you photograph their faces? I think we can still get some extra money.

- Do you know them? - Giorgio wondered intrigued.

- I think I can recognize some faces, there is a very good reward for them. We only need to send those pictures to the right people. I think I'll stay with you, something big is cooking here and we must feed the curiosity of the world.

* * *

Unlike the austere Yggdrasil´s main center, the administrative center was a beautiful, large and elegant building, designed to inspire tranquility, it looked more like an orderly garden than a control center. But now instead of the peace it should inspire, the place was so full of activity that it seemed more like an angry hive. Gods and goddesses from every level and craft were working side by side. The sober uniform of the wise was mixed with the bright colors of the students, the simple dress of the administrative class and the fancy dress of the artists' guild. Everyone worked hard to repair the nerve center of their universe, but at a closer look the apparent confusion was not. While there was a sense of urgency, they moved with the grace of a well-rehearsed dance. Between the gods existed a deep empathy that allowed them to perform complex work as if they had a single will, and that despite their diversity all of them acted like the gears of a perfect machine moving in unison in the same goal. There was so much to be done in order to accomplish Yggdrasil´s full recovery.

In the center of the complex dance of gods, a small figure was the center of the action. Her precise and complex orders contrasted with her childish attitude to the setbacks that she constantly had. Skuld could empathize with the large computer she was repairing, but even with all her great expertise would not refrain her from screaming, crying or even have tantrums every time some new misfortune appeared. Despite such display, the gods under her command just patiently awaited their orders. Regardless of their immaturity, she was not only was one of the Norns and the sister of the current Kamisama, but they knew she was someone who had by birth high, level knowledge and technical skills right for the job, a job that had been codified into her, even before was born.

For a human, it would be strange for a being with Skuld´s age to be so immature, but when you have eternal life, a childhood of centuries or millennia is natural.

The hours seemed to pass slowly, the work continued interrupted only by some tantrums but gradually the system error messages began to disappear. Skuld began to relax and went from despair to euphoria. Almost without realizing it, she began to improvise a silly ditty while none of the gods took care, but they cared when Skuld started to shout.

- It´s almost done!, I only need the final diagnosis. I made it!

Some gods smiled at Skuld's failure to take into account their own work, but in a world of immortals, children are so rare that no one could take it badly, especially when it actually seemed as if their work was about to come to an end.

Everyone now looked carefully at the information screens floating everywhere, while Skuld started what she hoped would be the last diagnosis. Tension was felt in the air as hundreds of expectant eyes looked at the displays and petabytes of information were analyzed in matter of seconds.

Finally the diagnostic software came to an end and presented its report: There were no errors in the system.

Skuld started jumping from her seat with joy and her euphoria began to spread among the gods.

Since the destruction of the great council building, only Belldandy, the powerful goddess that had replaced the old Kamisama, had prevented the world of the gods from going into panic. But now Belldandy had disappeared without a trace, and anxiety had begun to spread again among the gods. The restoration of Yggdrasil to a full operational state was a great achievement for all, so their anxiety was reduced.

However, not everyone was smiling. A beautiful goddess with short black hair, and a revealing outfit did not seem to share the general enthusiasm. Though she did not possess all of Skuld skills, the goddess Peorth had much experience in the system and felt that something was not right. She opened the diagnostic report on her personal console and analyzed with critical eye without caring about the general euphoria. Her beautiful face showed a grimace while she pondered her feelings. She realized that she could not avoid a tinge of resentment, after all she was the Sysop officially in charge of the system, yet she knew Skuld's skills were better than hers and had been voluntarily set aside to left her work. She hesitated for a moment, could it be that her resentment would make her see problems where there were none?. Wondering about it, she reviewed the report one more time and marked some suspicious items. They could not be reported as errors, still she did not like them. She pondered on then and finally could not contain herself, she rose from her seat and spoke with an authoritative voice.

- Silence all!, we will start reviewing the system from the beginning.

A hundred eyes turned to see her and Skuld uttered an indignant cry:

- What? Everything is fine, not a single error is left on the system. Never before has Yggdrasil has been so free of errors and ...

- Skuld! - Peorth interrupted - Exactly, ever since I remember Yggdrasil has never reported completely zero errors at low level. Can't you see? It's too perfect!.

Skuld froze, She felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on her. She knew the system, it was so huge and complex that there had always been some errors at that level...But her technical pride was at stake and ignored that thought immediately.

- Nonsense, I did a good job, so good that there are no defects left in the system, and that is because I'm the best. I declare the system is a hundred percent operational!.

Peorth not expect such sharp rejection in public. Even if she was a child, she was a Norn, and the sister of the current Kamisama, so she had enough influence to contradict her even if technically she was just another operator. The beautiful goddess clenched her fists with a barely contained anger, but after a few seconds a smile appeared on her face. There was an area of knowledge where she was far superior to Skuld. She calmed down and replied in a condescending and sweet tone.

- I apologize mon chéri, I appreciate your diagnosis, even more, I think you should personally inform Bell ..."Ah…! To Kamisama that Yggdrasil has been fully repaired with your help.

- But I do not know where is Belldandy - said Skuld- The system refuses to give access to her since she became Kamisama.

- Well then you should go out and find her, your job is done and I personally will check that it will be recorded on your file as a great achievement - Peorth hesitated a moment and then said that word that in heaven is considered almost taboo - you could even ... build a machine to find her... - Some gods showed astonishment at the mention of the "M" word, but Skuld ignored them and jumped in joy - You can go now.!

Skuld uttered a joyful scream and disappeared as if by magic, her passion for building machines had never been appreciated and that a senior god almost ordered her to build one was more than she had dreamed.

After Skuld´s disappearance, several gods began to prepare to leave the place, but the Peorth stopped them with a sharp command.

- Belay that!, all proceed now to your assigned stations, we will repeat the diagnostics from the beginning.

There was a general murmur of disapproval and a voice protested

- But Skuld declare the system fully repaired!.

- Skuld is no longer here. I am now the ultimate authority here. Now go to your posts. This time I want a manual diagnostic for each one of the system processes.

The gods looked at each other dumbfounded. The number of systems and subsystems of the most complex computer system that had existed was almost infinite. An old god spoke with annoyed voice.

- It will take a very long time and ...

- Exactly, that is why we will not waste time in protests and we will start now. I particularly want a diagnosis of the processes responsible for the automatic defense systems. We will begin with the ADX series.

- But that series is completely autonomous.- a young assistant protested- It does not even have an active interface with the system, besides none of us understand how it works.

- Exactly, nobody has payed attention to it for at least several millennia, still there is a strange chain of coincidences. Urd tried to log into the system looking information for it, and then, somehow a damage copy of it appeared on the earth at the Tarikihongan temple, where the Norns resided, all of this before the greatest catastrophe of our realm has known. It could be a coincidence, I do not know for sure, but now I am very curious to know what this series has been doing all this time.

* * *

Belldandy tried to control her emotions to be able to continue, with trembling hands she touched the man's forehead and began singing. She tried to get into his mind with a spell, while Lind was trying to understand what was happening.

As if reacting at her attempt, the figure tried to move. At that moment Belldandy put her hands on her head as if she had heard a thundering sound. With great effort she recovered and slowly said.

- He is awakening and is trying to regain control ...

Lind stood up and exclaimed with determination, while preparing for action.

- Then I will stop him, I do not care if he is really your father.

-No, wait! ... - Belldandy breathed deeply to regain control with a strange serenity said - You would destroy me too, he is now part of me. - Belldandy then hesitated, in that brief touch she had seen a blink of his mind, and was trying to gasp its implications- He has been part of my mind all these years, hiding deep inside me, waiting for the right moment to act and... - Belldandy lost control, fell into her knees and began to mourn, but this time her crying was not due to physical pain but by something much deeper, it was the pain of betrayal - ... waiting all these years to take control of my mind ...!

But he's your father ... - Lind asked in amazement -Why would he do that? And why would he take you into this madness? That makes no sense.

- I know, there is something else there, something evil, it´s...- - Belldandy closed her eyes trying to understand, then open them very slowly as an idea began to form. A fierce spark seemed to emanate from then, then she spoke with determination: - Lind, I'll need your powers and your strength again, I will demand again a proof of your friendship. I know you're risking your life staying here longer, but I need you.

- Belldandy !... I will obey your commands. My life is yours.

- He soon will wake up, you will hold him with all your strength and block his powers, but that ... that would cause me pain me too. He is part of me but that should not prevent you from fulfilling your duty. You must block all his powers as he will try to break free from you ... And if that is not possible, then you must destroy us!.

Lind nodded slowly, she was beginning to understand, she would fulfill her orders, even that order. Lind asked her in order to verify her suspicion.

- Then, this is really the madness, it did not just invade you, but him.

Belldandy nodded but did not reply, she bent and touched the face of the god, that same god that had given her life and the same face she had loved as a child. Memories flooded into her, she recalled the sacred words of the god, the loving word of the father and the wise words of an eternal. He had been all for her. Then she embraced him and asked:

- Father, why did you hide this? Why did you use me this way?, I owe you everything, but this is not the way, the way of deception and intrigue.

- Belldandy, what are you saying?

The man writhed and Belldandy shuddered trying to maintain control, she commanded: - Lind!. Do it now!

Lind straightened and forgetting any doubts she materialized her ax. With a flourish, she began to turn around as it were a beautiful dance, drawing a sphere with the blade, she whispered a spell of power and the sphere began to take solid form. Her goddess marks glowed, showing she was using her powers at maximum, she was creating a high level seal, a seal that only an elite Valkyrie could control, it was a very special seal, it was a prison created for upper gods, to control and subjugate them for interrogation.

Belldandy began to shudder as the man struggled to regain consciousness, she fought to kept him under control until Lind finished and then cried : - Do it!, NOW!

Then Lind dropped her ax, forcibly took the man from Belldandy's embrace and threw him into the magic sphere. While still unconscious the man tried to fight, the sphere shook fighting this power and for a moment seemed as if it were going to explode, but then began to downsize, closing in relentlessly and imprisoning the god, pinning him with a power that no god, not even this god could break. Belldandy cried in pain, she felt the prison on her own body, but she struggled to on her feet.

She looked at Lind while fighting the pain both the physical and spiritual pain, then told to Lind:

- Now I understood what he tried to accomplish. My father dreamed of uniting the three realms, Heaven, Hell and Earth under a single will. Have you ever wondered how it is that a god, even one as powerful as he, was allowed to have three daughters?.

Lind nodded and said:

- Very few gods are chosen to be parents, and only to cover the war casualties to keep our population stable. He was a powerful god, but that did not justify being three times a father. Especially when his first daughter was conceived with the most powerful enemy of our realm. No one understood why Kamisama allowed it, that those were his personal orders and nobody could argue.

-Yes, Kamisama was involved, he knew this all along. He knew the plan, and acted along with my father although I do not know why. On the death of my father he made everyone think it was just an old legend. Yes!, My sisters and I, are the Norns, we are part of an ambitious plan, but we never knew it. When I was born and he personally assigned my potential powers, he hid a fraction of himself in me and probably did the same to Urd and Skuld. That part would wake up at the appropriate time, to make us to come under his control, in order to fulfill the prophecy.

_**Er und þolli stendr;**_

_**Urð hétu eina, aðra Verðandi, Skuld ina þriðju;**_

_**þær lög lögðu, þær líf kuru alda börnum,**_

_**örlög seggja**_

_Three from the dwelling down 'neath the tree;_

_Urth is one named, Verthandi the next and Skuld the third._

_On the Yggdrasil, three laws will make,_

_and life allotted to gods, men and demons._

Belldandy stayed silent as she finally realized what was behind those words.

- But now I know it was not a prophecy, but a conspiracy. He would wake up and manipulate me to get more and more power, while pretending to be the perfect, the trusty, the purest of the goddess, in order to achieve his goals. That is why he refused to became Kamisama. He had more ambitious plans, he planned to control three universes, still I cannot understand why Kamisama agreed with that. But then something occurred, something unexpected.

Lind said slowly realized:

- The god you healed? The one who had the madness?

-Yes, I adsorbed his madness into me. It´s one of my powers. I had the capacity to absorb evil things and purify them, but he- Belldandy sobbed and with a shaking hand pointed to the god- He was hidden inside me trying to control me. Since I was designated as Kamisama I felt ideas and thoughts that were alien to me, and soon learned how to neutralize them. I could not imagine how powerful the being behind them was, a being that was willing to do anything to control me, so he searched my consciences and my memories, looking for a weakness, but instead he found something else...He was attracted to the evil that I had imprisoned into me to purify it, and when he got into it he became infected. Yes, the madness transformed his plan to force me to seek power was transformed into an obsession for power, and instead of controlling me, it poisoned my mind until I was unable to keep fighting against it.

Lind nodded, it was like a conspiracy within a conspiracy, but she was afraid that there was something more.

- But have trapped him, we can master him ...

Belldandy shook her head:

He is too powerful, you caught him by surprise, but he has learned and eventually he will manage to get control again. The madness made him even more powerful because he now has no limits, he would not hesitate to destroy everything using me and now I have the power to destroy our realm.

Lind understood. She knew what Belldandy was about to do, and could not help to think she would have been a magnificent Valkyrie, even greater and more powerful than her. Finally she asked, already knowing the answer.

- What will you do then?

There is only one way. - Belldandy's eyes filled with tears- The madness is mixed with him now at such a level that I can not separate them, I must dissolve his conscience, that would break his identity, his memories will be erased and I will purify them until only the madness remains, only until that I will be able to destroy it, and that means ... - Belldandy could not continue, but Lind already knew what she did not dare to say:

- It means that you must kill your father by yourself.

* * *

Keiichi entered his room with care, trying not to make noise so as not to wake his guest. He sat at his desk and turned on the monitor. Hesitated, then in complete silence opened the web browser and typed the URL of a very special website, the site where it all had begun. .hvn. Suddenly a deep and gentle voice interrupted him:

- Are you sure you want to use that option? Yggdrasil still appears to be unstable and could be dangerous.

Keiichi stopped, Galileo was right, it might be unwise to access Yggdrasil at this time, but maybe just this kind of recklessness could allow him to accomplish something more. His work at the plant was over, now it was only a matter of time, so he needed to do something. He could not help to think that still there was no answer to explain Giörel´s death, and there was not a clue about the identity of her killers. Maybe he could find something. Keiichi knew Galileo would do whatever he was ordered to do, but he felt he deserved respect and therefore he need to explain his reasons but was not sure where to start...

- Galileo, tell me, what do you remember before being downloaded to earth?.

- My memories are incomplete and unreliable, I have a set of contradictory information, it seem to be similar to what humans call emotions.

Keiichi smiled, despite its complexity even Galileo seemed to know very little about himself, but that was to be expected, after all, in a way he was just a few days old.

- Than means, you have emotions. But I already knew that. - as response, Galileo produced a sound that sounded so human it almost was comical, Keiichi nervously scratched his head, he had realized that it was very easy to identify his own sense of awkwardness with this recently born conscious. With a wide grin he said. - It´s not so bad to have emotion, once you learn to deal with them. Please try to tell me, what kind of emotion produces the idea to have communication with Yggdrasil.

Without any hesitation Galileo replied:

- Using what you call, psychological test, I must conclude that "feeling" is similar to what humans call fear. I want to do it, but I do not wish to do it, that is very confusing.

Keiichi smiled, he knew he was right, he needed to explain himself to Galileo, Trust was very important.

- Fear is not bad thing, but sometimes we must ignore our fears in order to move forward. In my experience in competitions, fear prevents you from doing silly things, but you must also learn to overcome the fear of being hurt or fail in order to win. Tell me, if I gave you access to all the resources of the CERN´s grid, could you recover your memory?.

- Negative, there are vital fragments missing and due to the high compression which is stored, it is impossible to recover them unless I gain access to my original code, maybe comparing the two would help to repair the damage sections and restore it. The humans at the Chiba are trying to help me.

- I spoke with Dr Izuka Kawazu and he told me the same. So I have realized there is only one option, to connect to the Yggdrasil system using a high-level account and try to get your original source. You told me you are a fork of a process that was running on Yggdrasil that was trying to store a protection copy on earth before being destroyed. Something inside Yggdrasil destroyed it. Using Belldandy's account I was able to learn many things about heaven. I haven't told anyone, since I have no proof, but I believe that Heaven and Hell face the same enemy, an enemy from forgotten times. I need to find the proof, and I believe it´s the same that is behind the destruction of your parent task. But I'm just a human and am afraid of finding something beyond comprehension, but I decided I need to overcome that fear. Galileo, I need your help. Now I understand why you have been avoiding the main channels when I have asked you to contact Heaven and Hell, you also have fear. Fear of that unknown enemy.

A calm voice replied.

- Yes, I have used always secondary systems, and now you are planning to get directly into the main system. But you will need an account with higher access that Belldandy-sama.

- Yes I know that- Keiichi smiled at the thought - But remember Belldandy is now Kamisama. I'm sure that now her account has unlimited access. But I need your guidance and help, if my fears are true, you will be risking your destruction. So this is something you must do on your own free will, not by an order.

- So, this is what humans call courage?.

Keiichi smiled at the word.

- I do not think I am brave, but this is something I must do.

There was barely a pause but there was certainly a change of tone.

-I understand now- there was a slight pause, then Galileo spoke with a ceremonious voice- Keiichi Morisato, of the Order of the Mortal Knights and High Judge of Heaven and Hell. I see you deserve those titles. I have decided on my free will. We will go together. You have showed me the way to fulfill my duty.

* * *

In the depths of the world of Hell, at the foundations of Hild´s palace there was a battle as had never been seen before. The magic and power that were being released could have destroyed much of that world it not were for the powerful and ancient magic that protected the place. The place had been created by the powerful ancient magic of past demons.

At one end of the giant cavern the goddess-demon Urd, had been transfigured into something that l looked like a being of light. Her demon and goddess marks shone with a fierce light that it was almost impossible to contemplate. Urd had used much of her magic to create a powerful shield, and used the rest to launch an initial attack. In case her Valkyrie uniform was not enough, she had started with a brute force attack. By now she was capable of controlling her power to a level that was far above any demon or god. Bolts of the purest white had knocked down hundreds of enemies. But Urd had learned. She knew she would not be able to defeat them all, and she needed to get more time, so she refrained from using all her power. Unfortunately her enemies also could learn. With knowledge accumulated trough eons of years of fighting they began to test her searching for a weakness.

Thousands of guard began an unrelenting attach on her, each one trying a different approach, probing her shield with distinct kinds of magic. Some were attack by brute force, others were sophisticated magic, tuned and focused only in small part of her shield. Urd had to adapt as fast as she could, changing her defense, and developing countermeasures. The spectacle was beyond imagination, she was floating in mid air, her body was incandescent with the continuous flow of energy to her shield. Her shield looked like a living thing, contorting and trembling under the attack. She was in a deep trance, it had been the only way to respond fast enough to the attack, one part of her mind controlled the shield, while the other explore her mind searching for every fragment of magic she had to use it. The intensity of the combined attack increased, she could feel how the elite guards were testing her. The attacks and counterattack was terrible yet beautiful sight, Hundreds of luminous magic fragments were engulfed in an electric grid that vaporize them and drew away a continuous stream of destruction that could reduce the most resilient material object to powder.

Anxiously Urd give herself the luxury of a glance to what was developing behind her. Even in her trance she could not help but fell awed. That pompous old demon was much more than it seemed. Wotan was deep inside his own trance invoking ancient and complex magic. But it was not raw power as Urd magic, but it was a kind of magic that was introduced into the fabric of space and time. A giant sigil was turning slowly around him and emanating unimaginable power, the magic symbols danced like living beings in a dance of breathtaking beauty. Layer after layer of magic was constructed multiplying the power of the previous one.

Urd realized that maybe He was as powerful as her mother, but that magic was much more complex than even she could handle. If that demon had wished probably he could have claimed for himself her mother's title, yet he had never sought power, instead he had dedicated to a scholar life. But there were more things to think about. While Urd could not understand some of the most complex instructions that Wotan was using, she realized that it would take still more time to close the trap.

Suddenly a sharp pain brought her back to the battle. An attack had managed to penetrate her shield, she looked at her arm as it began to turn gray and that began to spread. Her skin was turning into stone. Urd scream furiously and used a counter-spell to fight that magic. It was such an elemental spell that she had not expected that attack. Gradually her skin regained its color, but the pain continued, she could not give more time for healing, instead her face was transformed by a wild grin, she could use that pain to boost her power up to levels that were painful to sustain. The attack was redoubled when the guard noticed she had been reached. They had discovered that it was possible to find a weak point on her defense so there should be another.

As the attack increase Urd realize she was about to reach her limits, took a fast glance but Wotan had not finished. Urd tried to slow down her counter attacks, she began to control her anger. She would have to dispense her magic and power in order to gain more time. If she let he anger lose that would only consume her power more quickly. She needed a deeper trance for that, and started to sing one of Belldandy's spells to open her consciousness when suddenly everything became light. Amazed, Urd looked around and everything was gone. She floated in a limbo where nothing existed, then hear a voice that was eerily familiar.

- Urd, you are in danger, but you have a hidden power within you, I can feel the surrounding danger, I can feel the demons have turned against you. You must defeat the forces of Hell in order to take your rightful place, listen to me, give me your trust and I will give you more power than you have ever dreamed.

Urd exclaimed in surprise.

- Who or what are you?- She demanded. I don't know who you are, but I do not want to rule over Hell, I want to save it!. If you have power then give it to me, but I will not accept any conditions.

- Then you will be destroyed ...! - Sentenced the voice in a dispassionate tone

The limbo disappeared and Urd and once again was in the middle of the battle, but her distraction had taken its toll!

Suddenly in front of her appeared Bragg screaming- Look out princess!- And then he was wrapped in a blaze. Here distraction had made her lower her shield and Bragg had sacrificed himself as a shield to counter a sudden attack.

It seemed like everything was moving in slow motion, she watched as the fire engulfed Bragg, for a moment she could see pain reflected on his face, but at meeting her gaze he simply smiled before falling helplessly at her feet. Urd cried and tried to help him, but she was stopped by a new barrage of attacks. This time she could not avoid an anger that overpowered her will, the feeling was so painful and yet liberating. Urd felt as if a barrier had been broken and cried to the top of her voice an ancient and forbidden curse.

Everything around her seemed to explode as the curse developed into an overpowering counterattack, she saw as the first line of attackers felt under her power, and the rest retreated to prepare a new attack. Urd felt weak after such release of power, but tried to recover and began preparing to receive a new vicious attack when again she was recalled back into the limbo of her unconscious, she tried to fight until she realized this time she was not alone. In front of her was a figure, a young god with a dignified air that looked at her with kind eyes and Urd felt about to faint at the sight.

- Father! Are you really alive? Are you the one that is offering more power?

- My dear child, you must accept my guide and my will, in exchange I will give you power to defeat your enemies. Together we will control Hell ...

Urd was shaken at his words

- To control Hell? What is that nonsense? - Urd never had been close to her father, still the sense of betrayal was unbearable and asked angrily - Father, is that what you want? Have you been hiding inside me to use me?

The god looked at her, his kind eyes now showed the fire of barely concealed anger. But in that moment both were distracted at a new voice, a very familiar and angry voice.

- Finally you have come out of hiding ...!

Urd looked behind her and saw a young demoness ... She had no problem at identify her, it was the image of a Young Hild. Once on earth Hild had left an avatar, a child Hild a ten-thousandth of her power. But this avatar of a young demon meant that Hild had left within her a much larger fraction of her true power. The thought that both of her parents had been hidden inside her become intolerable to Urd. She now felt a double betray.! Furiously Urd confronted the avatars of her parents. Finally she understood.

- It´s a beautiful family reunion. So both of you were hidden inside me waiting to act and get control over me.

The young Hild looked at Urd with a sadness that she had never seen before on her mother.

- I do not want to control you, I always wished to protect you, so I hide this part of me, I suspected that your father would try to use you as soon as you went to Heaven. The spell that I put upon you was more than a loyalty spell or a block spell. That was when I decided to stay with you, I left part of my inside yourself to protect your if your father tried to manipulate you, and now he finally came out of hiding so I must act.

The young god spoke, and his voice long gone went deep into Urd's heart. His voice was calm, imposing and dignified.

- Do not listen to your mother, she only wants power for herself. I always dreamed that Hell and Heaven would rejoin into one under the guidance of the true gods.

At the words "true gods" a battle cry erupted in the place and the young Hild launched a magical trap against the god momentarily tying him. The serenity of his face now was replaced by anger and fought to liberate himself, Hild felled upon him and embrace him, then forced a wild kiss into his mouth, then spoke to him

- Finally I can neutralize you. Our daughter does not deserve this. I loved you, but you betrayed me and I would not allow that you betray your own daughter.- The turned to see Urd and said with passion - Urd, my dear daughter. I always wished the best for you. Soon you will know your true potential, neither your father nor me will have control over you again.

The god started to scream trying to get free but Hild forced again a kiss and both became a flame that began dissolving them. Finally they exploded into a wave of light and Urd was bathed in it. Urd received the power that had belonged to the avatars of her parents, that was her heritage. Urd felt she was now so powerful that it hurts, and had trouble breathing. Slowly she began to recover.

This time she voluntarily returned the limbo of her mind ready for battle. Fortunately her last counter attack had caused the temporary retreat of her enemies.

Even now, they did seem to be waiting to asses the situation, as if they suspected something had changed. Now Urd prepared for the battle. With a cold mind she evaluated the situation. Even with this new power she was not sure she could overcome the numbers of her enemies, but she knew something. No one would forget this battle.

* * *

Skuld walked along of the beautiful trails of her realm. There was still some frenetic activity all around, but it was much less pressing than before. At distance she saw a squad of young Valkyries sealing a screaming god, insanity was still infecting the gods, although the rate of infection had decreased. Skuld was reminded that the danger was not gone, and as she walked away from the attention of the gods from the control center, she began to remember Peorth's words: the system had never shown zero errors. Slowly her pride began to give way to reason. Peorth was right and she knew it.

Skuld thought of return, but her pride was still too strong. No, she could not return, but still she could enter the system from some terminal and finish the work on her own. With that in mind she was relieved, then felt a burning pain in her head. The gods who was around her looked frightened, they feared it could be the madness. Skuld fell to her knees, and cried trying to get help, but all gods around her fled in fear.

Slowly the pain went away, and Skuld could breathe normally again, she opened her eyes but could not see well, as if everything was now surrounded by a mist, and as the mist grew she could perceive a familiar figure beginning to take form. She watched him with wide eyes and exclaimed - Father! You're alive!

The voice spoke with a sad tone.

- Skuld my daughter, my life is in danger, I need your help,

- We must warn my sisters, is wonderful you are still alive. They will help you, we must seek them

- No Skuld, this should be only between you and me.

* * *

Giorgio heard a distant thunder and looked upon the sky. He smiled when he saw a small spot moving at high altitude. Apparently the news was spreading quickly and they had already sent a reconnaissance aircraft, but he doubted they could make better pictures that he had already sent. Nobody else would take away the pleasure of having the scoop.

His companion was still engrossed in his laptop, he kept sending a constant stream of photos and video because of the increasing requests for information. A smile lit up his face. The agency had promised them a substantive reward for this exclusive, and they had assured him that the material had been sent to the appropriate authorities. But he did not suspect those were not the authorities he believed.

Without further thoughts, Giorgio refocused his camera on the town. His companion had told him some names of the men that had been arriving. Some of them were leaders of various terrorist organizations. That kind of people would never leave their hidings if not for something really very important. He shuddered at the thought that the reason could be to put their hand on some kind of nuclear weapon. Hopefully the authorities would react quickly, but gulped at the thought of their course of action. The town was small but it must have at least a thousand people, representing more than a thousand hostages. Will they dare to put those lives in danger?

Then came to his ears the sound of a new vehicle. With curiosity he looked for the source, along the road came a jeep, but this was different. Instead of the battered vehicles he had seen, this looked like one of the most modern vehicles usually rented to tourists. He had a suspicion and a shiver went down his back. He grabbed his camera and pointed to the vehicle, he gave a cry of surprise. He saw a man wearing a formal suit, he seemed to be a Japanese, he was completely out-of-place in this situation, and a child was with him, he could not be more than 11 or 12 years old. The vehicle moved rapidly so Giorgio jumped out of his hiding, he did not mind being discovered, and started screaming, even knowing that the distance was too great to be heard. He still kept screaming as the car inexorably approached to the minefield.

* * *

**End of Chapter XXX**


	31. Chapter 31: Terrorist

_Despite some problems posting this, we go ahead with the story..._  
I managed to accidentally delete this chapter after I almost had finished it :(

_But I hope the wait was worth it._

Yours

**Elnauhual**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

_By Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXXI

Terrorist

Giorgio shouted even though he knew his voice would not be heard. He had seen too many times the effect of mines and feared he had to watch it again. He stopped screaming when he realized that the vehicle had stopped exactly at the point where the previous vehicles had stopped, as if they knew it was the right place.

He saw the man and the child abandon the vehicle and begin to walk slowly towards the village, but they stopped a couple of meters from the place he knew there was a mine. The boy had something in his hand, it looked like a small laptop and he told something to the man, then pointed to a place in front of them, it was the exact place Giorgio knew there was a mine! Nodding the man pulled something from his pocket. Giorgio quickly grabbed one of his video cameras, forgetting and any further attempt at keeping hidden, and he ran to the edge of the cliff where he leaned against a rock. Using the maximum zoom of his powerful camera, he examined the scene. He was able to see the man's features; he looked like a middle-aged Japanese in a suit which seemed more appropriate in a university classroom than in a town taken over by terrorists.

Due to the distance it was hard to keep the camera still, the tripod was in his hiding spot but he did not want to lose any detail. Finally he stabilized the image, and was able to see that the man was carrying a sort of elaborated medallion around his neck. Painstakingly he was able to capture a still image. It seemed like an ancient medallion carved in wood with strange markings and he was sure they were not in Japanese.

Almost the same time Giorgio managed to finish his inspection, the man and the child finished discussing the terrain around them and the man pulled something from his pocket. It seemed like a small cylinder that the man wielded and pointed to the place where Giorgio knew there was a mine. The cylinder seemed to extend, like those old telescopic pointers used by teachers. The explosion took Giorgio by surprise. He could see shrapnel flying everywhere. It was strange to see the silent flash of the explosion. Giorgio uttered a futile cry of warning, he had seen bloody bodies, shredded by mines shrapnel, thrown into the air many times, and then the horror of watching those mutilated bodies move and writhe in pain. He knew mines were usually not designed to kill but to injure and mutilate. A cloud of dust and sand had risen obscuring the scene. A few seconds later, due to the distance, came the explosion sound. It sounded ridiculously high pitched, like fireworks used in festivities, but he knew that sound was misleading.

As he stood petrified, a gush of wind suddenly cleared the scene and he realized the man and the child were still there, unharmed. He saw how the dust delineated a sphere around them. Something extraordinary had just happened! Again Giorgio focused his camera on the scene, this time it has more difficult as his pulse was trembling. The man turned around and looked away, looking directly to Giorgio as if he knew he was there. He saw through the lens of his camera, and then man was staring directly to him. Yes, he knew Giorgio was watching him! The Japanese smiled and then bowed respectfully as if he were thanking him.

Giorgio almost dropped his camera; he was unable to understand how they knew about him. At that moment he heard footsteps behind him, he thought it was his partner and excited he turned around to talk about what he had just seen. But he was left speechless as fear and surprise paralyzed him. The figure he found was not his friend, but a stocky man with some kind of military uniform without any identifying marks. Then the man smiled and spoke with a deep French accent.

- Monsieur Giorgio Vaglia I presume.

* * *

Keiichi attempted to feel hands he knew were not there, he knew that no physical movement was possible yet he was surprised to feel something. In fact he was able to sense much more than that. Galileo had explained to him that he had integrated routines to translate everything to route it to his senses, but he had not expected such an assault on his senses and of such intensity. Touch, sight, smell, taste, warmth, everything was there as part of a world whose existence was not real.

He looked around, despite having no physical body; he could change the focus of his awareness as if his body was real. He looked around and was able to see a geometric landscape, but whose laws challenged what he knew about geometry. He could see feel, touch and even smell and taste the flow of information of this world. He could make out the insipid taste of maintenance information from the aromatic sensation that produced information rich in meaning and the spicy taste of the encrypted information.

At that moment he felt in his mind Galileo´s presence. In order to get into the system Keiichi's awareness had been absorbed by Galileo, and both had been converted into a new program. His mind and that of Galileo were one and it did not even require an internal dialogue to share their thoughts.

They had come through the hidden connection that Urd had planted into Yggdrasil to allow it to contact the mortal world and quickly they were hidden in a sea of information. Thanks to the carefully use of Belldandy´s security credentials, they had cross several security gates, but they were trying to reduce their use to a minimum to avoid being tracked.

Keiichi felt a thought that was not his and nodded, they could not lose time, at that moment they were like a process running over the operating system and were detectable. They needed to hide.

Keiichi had an idea and suggested- Became a Trojan? -. Despite its complexity the system was very logical. They could hide as part of one of the maintenance system processes. They would just have to change their signature so it did not look like an infection. Thanks to Galileo's mind Keiichi began to become familiar with the system and soon they were able to identify a suitable process. It was one of the systems that recovered the space left by halting processes, a kind of garbage collector. There were thousands of copies of it running around the system. The detected one of those processes and proceeded to inserted themselves inside it.

Until now Keiichi / Galileo had appeared in the system with the original ADX process identity, but now that was gone and they were relived they had not activated any alarms.

Keiichi could not help feeling pleasure. The process they had invaded was simple, lacking in intelligence, but was rich in information it had collected. Keiichi began to savor the information, but it was not what he was looking for. Then Galileo suggested and an idea and he nodded with curiosity.

For Keiichi, suddenly the world seemed to explode, for a moment he panicked and cried and cried and cried ... the world was now filled with his own echoes. His screams had been multiplied and were echoing in a world made from his own thoughts ... Then he smiled and thought - So this is real multitasking? - He as a process had been multiplied and now there were thousands of copies of his conscience touring Yggdrasil memory banks, all with their own thought and conscience yet tied as a single conscience. Keiichi could feel he was simultaneously in thousands of places at once and had thousands of minds, each making slightly different decisions, exploring, examining and analyzing different parts of Yggdrasil. Keiichi felt like an omnipotent god and the idea make him laugh. What else could be expected if he was now in heaven, the world of the gods?

* * *

Peorth slumped on her seat, and the surrounding gods paused, completely baffled by their results. The system did not report any errors, all the normal processes should be working, yet there were many processes missing: The Sparta series, responsible for process security, the Phoenix series, the firewall that protected all I/O inputs, and the mysterious ADX series. They searched each one of the defense processes list and all were missing. That meant Yggdrasil was defenseless against any attack.

A technician spoke, trying to sound dispassionate, yet her voice could not hide her fears.

- I have tried to manually restart some of the Sparta process, but it didn't work. The system reports no errors, yet the process does not run, something blocks it and hides the errors. I have tried to restart some of the ADX series, but it reports invalid code, as if it were apparently damaged. I have tried to restore it from one of the backups, but the result is the same, so I think it´s not the code. None of the defense systems and processes are working.

All the gods and Peorth froze. Peorth began to feel despair, she was running out of options, and then an authoritative voice made her react.

- Peorth First Class Goddess, you have done an excellent job, and I will make sure to report it to the council, you must continue, all these gods trust you.

Peorth looked at the God who had spoken. Gods of all levels, rank and occupation had been cooperating to repair Yggdrasil, one of them happened to be a council member. At first Peorth had felt embarrassed by his presence, but he had been working with the same commitment and dedication as the others, besides he seemed to know the system almost like her. Peorth had even smiled at the idea that it was a pity that he did not work for her instead of the council. But in that moment the God had not spoke as a technician but had spoken with the authority of a council member. Peorth hesitated and then felt ashamed; she realized that behind those proud words was the message of not giving up.

- Chancellor Myr, I appreciate your words, but I feel I'm at the limit of my ability, I...

The god interrupted her... instead he spoke as if he were continuing her line of reasoning.

- So, clearly we have an infection of some sort that has made it into the lower level functions, and it successfully intercepts all the messages from the system, so we cannot see the level where errors occur. We can assume it´s presenting a false image of the system. - The god stopped to think and then said almost whispering – This is a contingency we thought was too remote when we designed the current system...

At that moment he touched Peorth casually, and she felt a rush of empathy that helped her to remember him, she shivered with surprise and admiration. Myr was one of the legendary programmers who had been involved in the design of Yggdrasil, while he was not one of the creators; the current system architecture owed much to him. How could she have failed to recognize him? Perth felt embarrassed for her previous thoughts about him. She was distracted by a surge of data that began to pour into her screen; somehow Myr was sending it directly to her, bypassing the system. Peorth looked at him with surprise; in return he gave her a knowing smile. Myr was giving her an alternative plan in secret, and it seemed that she would get all the merit or guilt for it, but why? She gave him a questioning look. The god leaned toward her and whispered.

- We will do some very unorthodox things that a councilor should not do. And if something goes wrong, do not be surprised if you receive the guilt, but mainly because you've done a lot and those gods trust you, besides I do not like to lead. So just shown them you can do more, you just need a little help, - then he spoke aloud: - Excellent idea, so you just need my credentials to access those extra functions.

Peorth was surprised, and then smiled briefly, so that was his game, no responsibilities for him? Good for him, but this seemed to be a very interesting god, she would need to do some personal research later. Peorth laughed; at realizing she was no longer in a gloomy mood. The god smiled as if he knew about her thoughts, then touched her console and whispered an encrypted spell. On Peorth´s console the new programs appeared with functions that she had never seen or even dreamed existed.

- I thought I would never need them again, they are hidden debug options I used to develop our current system, they work outside the system security, and I just used a back door to activate them. Officially they no longer exist since they simply skip all security restrictions...

That was enough explanation for Peorth, Myr had already sent her the instructions, so she immediately began to try them on the system, and after a few tests she activated them on all consoles and began to explain them. The info generated was soon overwhelming, she would need everyone's help to handle it all. After she instructed all the gods they returned to a flurry of activity, they were already aware of the seriousness of the situation and almost as important, they trusted her.

Myr smiled approvingly and returned to his place as if nothing had happened. At first nothing new appeared, but a few hours later Peorth detected something. She had set an alarm in case some of the missing processes were detected, and there it was. A process called ADX/K1 had fired the alarm. She quickly began to examine it.

The basic footprint seemed like the ADX series, but the ending k1 did not correspond to any known version. She sent the information to the other technicians, so they could trace its origin while she checked it´s resources. It seemed as it had recently activated, and she was sure it did not come from the main repository, but from a secondary node.

The software worked differently than any other she had known, it was constantly changing its position in memory as if it were hiding, then suddenly disappeared. She was sure it had not just stopped, since it has not freed its resources. On a closer look she found its function were now executing as part of another software. Thanks to the new functions she realized what had happened. The software had inserted itself into another running software adopting its identity. She managed to identify the infected process, and trace it. It was fascinating; she realized it was extremely complex. At one moment it began to generate other execution threads, Peorth was about to halt it manually but realized it was not infecting the system, just scanning memory locations everywhere along Yggdrasil memories as if searching for something. While the program seems to be just gathering info, she was still sure was its purpose and began to wonder how to interact with it. Meanwhile everybody began to watch it. The ADX series was almost legendary, yet very little was known about it, and it´s behavior showed how special it was. It was very peculiar, reminiscent of a living being.

Peorth rose from her seat and went to talk to Councilman Myr; maybe he knew something more, when she heard a collective gasp while everyone looked at their screens.

Peorth found the process had split into two, one of them held now the identification ADX-654 v3.00, exactly the software they were looking for, but the other one was the reason that had caused the general exclamation. The system reported the new running task as: "Morisato Keiichi". Access level: judge Level 3.

The gods began to murmur, everyone knew about the mortal named Keiichi, and the story that he had been appointed a judge of gods and demons. So it was true. It was an amazing thought...

Peorth felt her head spinning. Something beyond her grasp had happened, she looked at Myr in search of answer, but his perplexed expression was not reassuring. Slowly everyone began to react and trace the new program task. It was moving to a very old part of the system, so old that no one knew it existed. It was hard to follow; the protocols of that system were extremely old. Suddenly they lost him; It seemed it had entered a high security area, which not even the new debugging functions could follow.

Peorth gave orders to search for info for that part of the system to map it´s resources and privileges, when two new processes entered the same region. One of them was reported as a system cleaning routine, yet it behave in a strange way, and it bore very high level credentials, Perth knew it was the one that had been reported as Morisato Keiichi, the other was completely unknown and was working with the levels of high council member or even higher.

Peorth shouted: - We need to identify it´s owner account. Locate the user, it appears as if it has entered the system from a console from the main Council building.

A technician spoke, completely failing to control her excitement.

- That account ... ah! Belongs to Belldandy´s father!

* * *

Skuld entered into one of the elegant and luxurious private rooms from the council building. There were terminals that could provide high level access to Yggdrasil, for exclusive use of the council members. But there was something different in the way the young goddess acted, a haughty expression and firm steps made her look much older. A young Valkyrie patrolling the building had witnessed her arrival and went to the room to stop her, and said sternly.

- How did you get here? This area is reserved, only council members can enter!

As only answer, Skuld extended her left arm and calmly whispered a few words. From her hand came a faint flash and the Valkyrie tried to cover her head in pain, while emitting a surprised moan, then her body convulsed and fell to the ground motionless, she said coldly:

- I am a council member.

Skuld the ignored the fallen body and looked around until she found one of the access consoles, she put her hand on it and immediately her identity was acknowledged, and signaled it was ready for command input. Skuld ordered a priority one seal, the same used in secret meeting to prevent any possible interference. Nobody could know now, what was happening inside. Finally she sat in front of the console. Her expression suddenly changed, it was as if she was waking from a dream. Surprised she looked at the figure lying on the floor with a look of concern:

- Father, was that necessary?, Please let me examine her to make sure she is not wounded.- Skuld made the attempt to get up, but her body would not obey. The image of a young and proud god with the clothing of a council member appeared in front of her. Skuld had already realized it was not real. It was only in her mind. The god spoke coldly.

- Do not worry about such trivial things, there are important matters. Unfortunately you do not have enough magic to be of any help - Skuld attempt protest but her father interrupted her - But that´s my fault. When you were born I set a partial blockage on your magic powers.

Skuld looked at her father in surprise. She had suffered by not being able to fully develop her magic, knowing that it was her father´s doing, was extremely puzzling, to say the least.

- Father, why did you do that? - Said in an accusing tone- I fought hard to develop my powers, I have suffered so much for that...

Again the god interrupted her; he did not seem to care much about Skuld's feelings.

- I needed you to develop other powers I programmed into you. I decided your destiny. Eventually you will control the mortal realm, but in that place magic is of limited use, so I gave you the capacity to manipulate and control technology instead of magic, Maybe it was a mistake, I should have given you a bit more of magic- The god was not really talking to Skuld, but to himself and ignored her protest- but now it´s too late to do something about that, even if I lift the blockade it would take too much time before you learn to control your magic. - Suddenly he stopped and thoughtfully looked around - Something has happened, I feel as if one of my avatars has been destroyed and the other is under attack, I cannot get in touch with them. I need more information to decide what to do; maybe I'll have to take control of Yggdrasil. In that case I should have to transfer my consciousness to the system instead of depending on your limited magic.

Skuld had been trying to get his attention, but his last words were too much, so she spoke as loud as she could:

- Father, please listen to me! After the destruction of the council building and many of Yggdrasil's nodes, we have been repairing Yggdrasil so it´s been heavily monitored. You cannot do that without attracting attention.

- Destruction of the council building? - Asked surprised - then we were attacked by demons. It´s a very good opportunity, I must take control. Maybe I should become Kamisama in order to attack. I did not expect they would dare to attack. Maybe it's the right time to attack them and put your sister Urd in charge.

Skuld said, frightened by the intensity of his father´s words.

- Father! We were not attacked by demons, the destruction was due to a god and the origin of the madness is unknown, so demons are not our enemies now, even the doublet system has been suspended; besides we can't break the Magna Truce.

- What? What did you say? A Magna Truce! that's impossible - the god exclaimed incredulously.

- But it´s true, Belldandy and Hild declared the Magna Truce.

- Belldandy and Hild? It cannot be. That would only be possible if Belldandy were Kamisama, And in that case ... She should be under my control and should know it. No, that cannot be true! Also there are no other races; the Magna Truce requires members of a third race as judges.

Skuld started to panic at the violence of his father's reaction.

- But we have judges, Dr Shugahara, Keiichi and Sentarō are judges. They are mortal.

- Mortal Judges? – He cried in rage -No mortal should be judge of gods!

The god stared incredulously at her daughter, slowly raised an arm toward his daughter and with an energetic gesture he immersed into her memories, ignoring her cries of protest. She felt like her memories were violently uprooted and examined. Skuld was shocked with the violence that had been inflicted on her, her father stated:

- Seem everything is upside down. Belldandy? Loves a mortal? And how did she avoid my control? And if Urd is in Hell my other avatar should have been in control, unless Hild had detected and destroyed it. - His ire was growing and stated- And how could Belldandy and Hild dare to elect miserable mortals as judges! The natural order of things has been altered, I must intervene.

Skuld stared at her father with fear. She began to realize something was wrong He was talking about controlling Belldandy. This god was not the loving father she remembered.

- Father, how can that be wrong? the war with demons has ended, you told me that was what you dreamed, we are and mortals are helping us

The god spoke angrily.

- That cannot be, demons should not to be our allies, but our subjects. Only the gods must have the control of the multiverse. Neither demons nor mortal should be our equals. I must do something, but I feel weak, there is a great emptiness inside me. Really one of my avatars must been destroyed and the other seems to be very weak. My death was a serious drawback, since I no longer have a physical body, but I can deal with that. You will use functions I left hidden in Yggdrasil. You must obey your father. If the doublet system has been disabled, maybe is the right time to attack Hell

Skuld did not wish to obey but found her will was overpowered by her father magic.

Although her face reflected fear, her only words were - Yes father!

* * *

Belldandy´s body trembled under the pain, but that did not stop her. The captive god writhed and howled furiously while Belldandy with her open hands gradually extracted and purified his inner essence inside. Belldandy was at her limits, while Lind also was using all her power to keep the powerful being under her control.

The god's body started to become translucent, inside him something became visible, it was something dark, moving from one point to other as if it were trying to hide.

Belldandy put her attention on it, and began to follow it´s movements, then she come closer to her father's body. Suddenly she extended her arm with her open hand, and penetrated into his body; the god shuddered at the contact, and then captured the dark substance to pull it out.

The god seemed gasped, and then stopped fighting and cried. He began to breathe deeply as fought to avoid losing consciousness.

The dark seem to be alive and began to fight against Belldandy, it tried to escape from her hands, while if began to spread ominous pseudopodia that grew toward Belldandy's face. The goddess shouted to Peorth.

- Release my father and help me destroy this.

Lind obeyed and lowered her pole-ax; the god slumped to the floor free from his prison. Lind carefully analyzed the situation, she did not wish to harm Belldandy, then swung her pole ax, charging it with power and warned the goddess - It´s too close to you, try to use your physical barrier to have some protection...- Belldandy nodded, even she was tired still she was quick to react. She put a barrier between her and the dark mass, without further warning Lind liberated the energy accumulated on her ax.

It was a precise attack, Belldandy was thrown backwards by the violence of the impact, yet was unharmed, the mass glowed like a dying charcoal, and then began to boil violently, and a few seconds later it froze and then became sand that fell to the ground, finally converted into something completely harmless.

Belldandy stood up slowly and looked at Lind; there was a look of relief in her beautiful eyes and with great effort managed to say.

- You did it, you have destroyed the infection.

Both looked at the god, lying collapsed at the ground. His body was translucent, but now his expression was different, seemed as he had woken up and began to look around with an air of surprise. He looked at his hands and rub them realizing they were translucent, then looked embarrassed to Belldandy and Lind.

- Belldandy! What happened? How is that you can see me? I should be hidden in your unconscious, unknown to you.

Belldandy began to mourn and ran to hug his father; he seemed comforted by her touch, and then said with urgency.

- I feel weak, you should help me, and I have a job to do, I ...I must...

Belldandy looked at her father and spoke softly and tender.

- Father, please you do not need to talk. I know about your mission and about your plans and I can tell you they are wrong, you cannot impose your personal vision to the world.

Belldandy separated from her father, who looked puzzled at her. The goddess with tears on her eyes said:

- You have not been completely healed, but this part of your sickness is much older, I am sorry I was not there to heal you; there is still an unhealthy ambition. It should not be there, because I do not remember that in my father. I will heal. Forgive me for this but I want to see my old father.

Then Belldandy reintroduced her hands on his father´s body, she searched into it and pulled out a red and evanescent substance, which began to dissolve on her fingers. Her father shuddered and inhaled deeply, then began to mourn slowly as he regained control and with a broken voice said:

- My Daughter! What have I done! - He extended his hand and tried to touch her daughter, but Lind moved to hold his hand with a fierce grip. Belldandy smiled and told her: - Everything is right now; he will not harm me anymore. The god look at Lind with surprise: - A Valkyrie here? I remember you, you are Lind. You are one of the greatest warriors and one of the heads at the supreme council of the Valkyrie. What are you doing in Belldandy´s mind? If I am conscious it means that Belldandy is now Kamisama, but then it would be impossible for anyone to enter into her mind.

Belldandy looked at him and said with pain and sorrow on her voice

- She invoked the Ragna protocol to protect me from you.

The god looked sadly at Lind.

- So this is you death sentence? Why did you do it?. You cannot do it alone, all members of the Valkyrie supreme council must have done the same. Why did you do it? you not only have sacrificed you life, but also went against the foundations of our laws. Why?

Lind bowed her head to him, recognizing him again as a member of the high council and she said humbly.

- The supreme council of the sisterhood of the Valkyrie acted on their own will, we not fear death, but we fear not to be able to do our duty and our duty was to help Kamisama, besides...- Lind hesitated but then said - Belldandy accepted me as a friend. No sacrifice is too much.

The god closed his eyes trying to hide the moisture that flooded, then said:

- What I've done! Lind, you are one of the greatest warriors. I am responsible that you are going to sacrifice your life along with your sisterhood. It's my fault!

Belldandy spoke with sadness: - Father, you were infected...

- Yes, I was infected, but I have realized that my infection comes from many years ago, that dark entity did nothing that I was not willing to do.

The god tried to stand up, but was he was too weak and Belldandy began to cry, she knew he would not survive much longer.

- Father, you must forgive me, I've destroyed you, and maybe I should have found another way to prevent your death.

- No my child, I died long before and this, this image you see is just a ghost that should have disappeared long time ago, a ghost who tried to impose an inhuman plan. I have nothing to forgive, but thank you. You have stopped me from cause more harm. Unfortunately I cannot repair the damage I have caused to you and to them, whom have sacrificed all...

Belldandy said with hope.

- Father, you were a senior member of the council, maybe you know to prevent that destiny, a way to avoid being destroyed. I owe them at least to try to save them.

- It's part of their nature of a Valkyrie, the code that was put into the Valkyrie is similar to the code of the doublet system, and you know it can't be disabled.

His voice began to wane, as his body began to dissolve, already his hand were fussy, he looked at her daughter with wonder.

- Goodbye daughter, I hope you could keep only the best of my memory, You have grown beyond expectations, unfortunately you must still save your sisters from me.- The God started to dissolve but made one last effort and said - Yes!, I think there is one way, but maybe is too cruel, if you dare to do it then you ...

His voice trailed off into a whisper and ended up dissolving completely. Belldandy closed her eyes and fought back her tears; she went with Lind and embraced her. The worst of the nightmare seemed to be over for now.

* * *

Urd floated in the air, her body shone with the accumulated power of gods and a demon and it was barely contained. Her face showed an ecstasy that bordered on madness as she felt the surge of power in her body. She started laughing but it was a sound that would inspire fear. She looked at her hands engulfed in a fire that burned but not consumed, it was painful, but a pain that filled her with the ecstasy to feel alive, she felt more alive than she had ever felt in her long life. She looked down and saw the infected guards had perceived her changes and rearranged for a new attack. Her senses were also finer; she could see they were organizing into groups and each group were calling their physical barriers, joining them in layers, like an onion, creating a protection that seemed impregnable.

That made her laugh wildly. For her nothing was now impregnable. She rose in the air and floated over one group, and extended her hand. She did not invoke any spells, her hands emitted a soft glow, and there was no sound, no explosions. Just a soft light that engulfed the guards firing, and instantly they were converted into ashes. Their barriers were like paper for her.

She looked fascinated at her incandescent hands. Nothing could stop her now, nothing in the universe; even her mother could stop her. She could do whatever she wanted and now she was prepared to get rid of clutter that was down below her.

But the guards were still not defeated. One of those groups, suddenly joined their magic and launch a powerful attack against her.

Urd was taken aback for a moment, yet she diverted the attack with incredible ease, it barely took a gesture. She was preparing to obliterate them when the big underground room began to shake...

She looked up and saw that the attack she had diverted had crashed into a wall. It´s intensity was such that it had shattered the magic barrier that maintained the integrity of the cave, one of the most protected sites in Hell, and that so far had kept the great battle sealed inside. That magic was also responsible of maintaining the artificial cave intact at such great depth.

For a moment she smiled. The guards had sealed their fate; everyone there would be buried alive. Maybe it would be more merciful to exterminate them first...

Then she was assaulted by an inside voice, a delicate voice that whispered something... Urd tried to ignore it to launch an attack, but this voice would not let her. What did it say? Somehow she needed to know.

- "Urd, You have taken lives; you have taken lives of your own people ..."

Whose was that voice? ...

The voice kept talking and talking, Urd refused to listen, she put her hand on her head and screamed, she did not like what the voice said, - Who it´s talking? - But then, she realized that the voice was her own voice.

She was shaken, and then said aloud. - "I have taken lives"! - Urd gasped after saying those words, it was as if she had awakened, then felt that her new powers would not release her will, but chain it, as if her consciousness was only a veneer over her most primitive instincts that only caused destruction. Then she began to remembered, she saw her past, and realized that her memories in the world of the gods were blurred but her memories of the land of the mortal were vivid, She remembered clearly the time living with Fafnir with more presence than the previous eons of her life. Then remembered Fafnir and his life among mortals, she remembered Keiichi and humans she had known, she remembered Kenji and that memory brought her peace, then looked at the guards who attacked her and recalled that they were not her real enemies. They were merely puppets of an unknown enemy.

As the memories began to make her remember that she had felt alive, the intoxication of power began to fade, the glow around her body faded away. Now she felt that the she was in control of her power and not a slave of it. At that moment the thundering noise of the crumbling walls recalled her attention. Without thinking more, she concentrated her magic and created a barrier to contain the cavern. the noise stopped, but she did not know how to repair the wall´s broken magic, that magic was too ancient for her to know, so she had to keep her magic flowing to the barrier.

She tried to get some ideas, but her mind was still was slow, she could only think into using her physical barrier to hold the cavern, unfortunately the physical barrier was used to protect from external things, and the guards... were now inside it. Soon they realized she was now unprotected and began to attack. Thanks to her overflowing in power, Urd resisted, but she knew that would be temporary, even with her new power, her unprotected body would not last.

Urd began to curse the stupid guards she was trying to save, and screamed to the full of her lungs, just a distraction and the barrier wavered and that caused the walls began to crumble. So she concentrated again.

She kept cursing while the guards attack began to penetrate her body, filling her with pain and that weakened her. Bit by bit her sight began to fade into darkness while she continued to curse the universe. The world was becoming darker and darker.

* * *

Inside the village school, the man with the cruel look heard an explosion and quickly took the semiautomatic weapon he had on the rickety desk. He got up from the chair and listened carefully, it sounded like one of the old mines. Had one of his men became careless and stepped on one of them? Why everyone was so stupid?

After a couple of minutes, which seemed like an eternity, he heard another and then another. Something was detonating the mines. Only an armored vehicle could cause that, but he had been told that only a tourist jeep had approached. It could not be that. A jeep would have not resisted that.

Then the door burst open and a couple of men entered reflecting fear and surprise on their face. They began to speak quickly but it was hard to understand them. Something about a man and a child, they were walking through the minefield detonating the mines!

- Shut up, stop talking nonsense. - Ordered and the men became silent - If they attack us, we have the hostages. Go and get the women, and especially bring the American girl. Make sure the explosive charges on them are well connected and then take them to the town limits where everyone can see us. We'll see if they dare to attack us.

The men looked at each other and ran to meet their orders. The man watched them go, and cursed at the stupidity of people under his command. He went to the desk and took an ammunition clip for his gun, after checking it was full, he inserted it into his gun, then pulled out a homemade radio detonator. He smiled to think that maybe it was not bad they could see some hostages die. That always helped in negotiations even when governments said they did not negotiate with terrorists.

* * *

Keiichi felt entranced by the feeling of being in many places at once, each one was like an echo of his conscience, he could feel how each part could act on their own, some were behind the spicy bits of encrypted information, and others sought other flavors and odors. Then he saw something familiar, he could not recognize it since it was mixed with other elements. His main conscience became concentrated at that point and began to look for the source. He went to a place that was unlike anything he had seen so far. Its geometry was more sober and simple, and unlike anything around the place, there was almost no movement there.

Carefully he tried to enter, but found a barrier that could not penetrate despite having high level system credentials. It had to be a place of restricted data, but there was something strange, with the help of Galileo he searched the system map and found this place was not there. It had to be a very old system component hid from the system; at least the architecture seemed to be very old, more ancient than other parts of the system he had seen.

He felt Galileo´s thoughts and agreed, if it was ancient, then it could have valuable information of those ancient times, still Keiichi wondered what it was that had drawn him to place. There was a familiar scent that he could not identify.

He tried to use Belldandy´s password to gain access, but it was rejected. That was strange. Could it really be information not accessible to Kamisama? That fueled Keiichi´s curiosity. Maybe that section was so old that new credentials were rejected even if they were high level.

Galileo nodded at his thought, which was an interesting point. Keiichi remembered that he had a high-level identity of his own and with an access password, after all, Keiichi was now one of the ancient judges. But in order to use it he had to be alone.

Galileo agreed so he and Keiichi would separate their consciences. Keiichi had to act on his own, the process was strange, Keiichi had felt some familiarity with this strange world, thanks to Galileo, but now he began to feel disoriented, especially since he could see how a new code was created, that code. In a way, that code held his conscious. Suddenly he felt alone, Galileo had separated and now Keiichi felt disconcerted, as a child that had been left alone, the thought was funny, that he recovered and began to explore the place by itself.

Keiichi approached the access point to this unknown system; in his mind he perceived it as if were a huge and ornamented door. He was not sure what to do so he simply touched it immediately the door activated and scanned him, then the door communicated a though: - ID attributes accepted as Judge. Please provide password for level III security.

Keiichi remembered he had received a series of passwords. Level III was the highest level, he wondered if it would work. He recalled it in his mind and without warning the access was open. The huge door simply disappeared.

He heard Galileo's voice this time it was outside his mind.

- I cannot enter. This access does not recognize my own credentials. I do not wish to force the security, since it could make the system reject you. Also one of my tasks has identified some fragments of my parent task. Apparently there are still data fragments on it, I will try to recover them.

Keiichi answered - Then I will wait for your return- and went into the door.

It was a vast file system, it overflowed his senses. The site was rich with complex information, it was like a feast to his senses, then without conscious effort he spread his conscious and with hundreds copies of himself began to work. At the taste of the first bits of information he was awed. This place contained information about the first born; soon he began to taste and sample around. His consciousness spread throughout this huge file-system, most of it was information from the time of the first born- Keiichi felt his spine Shiver, some of this was older than the big bang of his own universe – he took pieces from here and there to get some understanding. Slowly he learned about an era full of wonders and dreams, but also had pain and suffering, as ancient mortal beings learned the joy and agony of becoming gods. For Keiichi was a revelation that help him to understand Belldandy in a way he had never thought to be possible. It was a lot of information, he realized he had no time to analyze it, and began to absorb what seemed more relevant, and he went from a place to another. He reached a part that had to be recent. It was about the implementation of the doublet system. Keiichi suddenly stopped, he felt something, and he was not alone. Then a question popped into his mind.

- Who are you? How did you get permission to enter here?

Keiichi look around and saw a floating image. It was a young god, but with an arrogant stand. Keiichi could not interpret his facial marks, but realized he was a high rank god, yet there was something more important. . There was something familiar in, in his appearance and his ... aroma? Keiichi aspired and realized. It reminded him about Belldandy.

The god came and repeated his question impatiently; he was someone who was used to obedience.

- Answer me. Who are you? You're not a god, and you do not seem to be a demon. What are you?

Keiichi was someone used to respecting authorities, and even more; this was not a common authority, but a high rank god. Usually he would have become nervous and would begin to offer apologies, but Keiichi still remembered the godlike sensation of being omniscient and the attitude of the god had hurt him. Keiichi thought, that being could be a god, but that did not justify his tone, so Keiichi somehow felt angry enough to answer him using the same tone. Keiichi stood and proudly said:

- My name is Keiichi Morisato, I am a member of the order of the mortal knights, and I have been appointed as a judge of gods and demons, now answer me. Who are you and what is your relationship with Belldandy?

The god could not help an exclamation of surprise.

- Yes, you're a mortal!- said in accusing tone - You are the mortal that has been living with my daughter! Even more, you dare to use the title of Judge that is only for superior beings. What kind of creature are you? How did you get it?

Keiichi was taken aback by that statement.

- Belldandy's father? - His anger was replaced by his natural shyness, he felt embarrassed. He sniffed and realized that it was his data scent that had attracted him to that place. It reminded him about Belldandy. Keiichi swallowed hard and tried to change his attitude, he said with all the respect he could:

-It´s an honor to meet you. I have not harmed you daughter in any way, we love each other. I would give my life for her and I'm here because I fear there is a hidden menace to her. There is a menace that is targeting gods and demons; I want to know what it is.

The man was angered at Keiichi´s words.

- You? a mortal? We helped your race to exist, and yet you want to steal the secrets of the gods? Now I understand some of Skuld's memories, she did not like you. I cannot let you exist. Not only you have desecrated this place, I think you have changed Belldandy in some way and that is one of the reasons she has escaped my control. So, I will destroy you. You must die.

* * *

Sentarō was shaken by the explosion; he saw how the bomb´s shrapnel was thrown out, flying in all directions, it even detonated some nearby mines that produced more shrapnel. Those mines were not like those in the TV action movies where they simply throw people in the air. Dr Shugahara had explained to him how real mines worked and the effect of the shrapnel in a human body. While he explained that, it was the first time he has seen him angry, Sentaro had not dared to ask, but he suspected Shugahara had been a witness of the mines effect, so Sentaro did not wish to bother him with his fear, he clenched his teeth and concentrated on their plans. Each mine they could detonate was a mine that would not harm a human being. So while his fear was evident on his face, his eyes shone with decision. He raised the laptop he was carrying and examined the photos that were on the screen; soon he located another mine, and pointed it to Shugahara.

Shugahara looked at the children and smiled. Yes, it had been the correct decision. He had seen how he was controlling his fear, despite his young age. This child was really special; with a little guidance someday he could be a great man. Sentarō called him and pointed to a small promontory and he nodded. Shugahara had a small cylinder on his hand, it was the weapon of the first born, with it, and he pointed to the promontory, and simply made a mental order. The cylinder stretched faster than the human eye could follow. At the moment one extreme touched the rock at the promontory, it exploded and that detonated the land mine. He proceeded to detonate the next mine.

The first time, Sentarō had seen it work, He had commented that it looked like a light-saber from Star Wars, but soon they realized it was something much more powerful and deadly. At the moment it touched something, with just a mental order it could dissolve the bonds that kept atoms together, so anything material would disintegrate, but even that was not its true power. It had not been designed to rupture matter, but magic, its true purpose was to destroy the magic of a god or demon, and that included the containment field that held the power of a god, thus he had the power to kill a god. But so far he had no plans to use it for that. Somehow he felt as it were using the power of a nuclear reactor to light a candle. From moment he imagined he was using it like a scalpel, with the purpose of removing malignant tumors. Sentarō pointed to another place and he used it to detonate another mine.

Shugahara looked at the town and saw with satisfaction that and it looked like an anthill which had been molested. There was frantic activity everywhere, but his smile faded when he noticed several men that were dragging a group of weeping women. Each of them had something strapped to her body.

Sentarō spoke, but Shugahara signaled him to keep silent for a moment. He looked and examined each one of the women, but did not recognize any. Then he saw the door of a solid building the opened. His eyes glared with anger at noticing that it took two men to draw a young woman with torn occidental cloths. It took two men to drag the young woman. Yes, it was her!

His heart began to race, many live depended on this plan; they would never forgive him if something came out wrong.

He saw the women were gathered at the edge of town, even at that distance he could hear their screams and frightened cries. He called Sentarō attention toward the women, the child was scared by what he saw but recovered and understood, he took the laptop and began to mark the way to get near them. That is, the way where they could detonate the biggest number of mines.

Suddenly they heard an angry buzz and a small explosion in front of them followed for something that felled into the ground. It was a high-caliber bullet, stooped by the medallions shield. Then more began to impact the shield. They were being shot with everything the terrorist had, fortunately the shield could hold, yet they could feel the violence of the attack. Shugahara instinctively took the medallion hanging from his neck and saw glowing magical symbols on its surface. He held it firmly while he put his other hand on Sentaro´s shoulder, to help him to control his fear, and then whispered. - Urd, thanks for making this.

Once they were sure the shield would hold, they started walking slowly towards the women, they continue detonating the mines while a shower of bullets fell upon them. He wanted to make sure he got all their attention. So far this seemed safe, but Shugahara knew Ghadril had been right, if they had been there alone, only with one medallion, probably it would not have been enough.

They slowly approached the place where were the women had been gathered, and then they heard a sharp shout. Intermediately all the shooting stopped and they heard a voice speaking to them.

- Stop there, who are you? If you take one step further, we will kill the hostages.

They saw the voice came from a bearded man with a cruel face. There could not be any doubt he intended his words to be true. Shugahara replied with a loud voice... the same voice he sometimes had to use to put down rebellious students.

- You have kidnapped someone very important to us and stolen something you should not have, since you are unable to understand it´s power I will take it from you.

Momentously the bearded man was taken aback as being addresses as if he were a naughty child, but eventually he recovered and then he laughed.

- The world has turned its back on us, so we take what we need, and we know what we can do with that power. We understand that power. But now I see that you also have something that can give us more power. Surrender and give us whatever you are using or we will begin to kill these women. I doubt very much you can stand to see a woman die, you are so soft.

The man laughed again, he seemed to enjoy the prospect of killing someone. Shugahara´s anger was clearly visible, but he didn't answer, instead he instructed Sentarō to continue forward.

They advance a few steps and detonated another mine. The man screamed with rage.

- Haven't you heard me? Do you think I will not kill them? -He raised his hands to show his gun in one hand, and the detonator in the other. Each of these women has an explosive charge. I can detonate them one by one. So Stop, now!

As an answer Shugahara and Sentaro advances a few steps more and the man extended the detonator, punched a code to select one charge. But before he used it, a female voice cried. It was the American girl.

- Stop, I will not let you. - She jerked and managed to get released from the men that were holding her, then ran and stood between the women and the bearded man.

He exclaimed with anger.

- Do you really believe you're too important just because you created these crystals? - He pointed to bag he was carrying - No woman is worth so much.

The man pointed his gun toward her, and without saying anything, opened fire on her. He began to laughing madly as he emptied the full clip on the frail girl's body.

Soon the place was filled with screams.

* * *

**End of Chapter XXXI**


	32. Chapter 32: Son of Gaia

The order of the Mortal Knights

**By Elnauhual**

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

_Chapter XXXII_

**Son of Gaia**

The world was all darkness, yet that did not stop Urd , she continued cursing and struggling to maintain her magic working. She had never given up before any demon or god, and would not do it under that invisible enemy that hide behind the appearance of a hostile universe. She felt her consciousness fade so she cursed once again and screamed fighting against the unconsciousness that was about toconquer her.

She felt as if she was about to become part of that universe that kept silent at her curses, It had always done so , then she was shocked at hearing a familiar and friendly voice that echoed in her mind.

- My Princess Urd, for now your work is over, it's time to rest. Save your anger for future battles.

Urd realized that the pain had disappeared and struggled for a moment to feel it again as it reminded her that she was still alive, but her body was not responding, and now instead of pain she felt comforting arms holding her. Urd tried to curse again. Outraged she realized that someone was carrying her in his arms, as if she were a little girl. She tried to fight those arms and was surprised at realizing that not only she could not do it ... but that she did not wish to, they felt so good and relieving. Yet she made a last attempt to protest.

As an answer she heard a soft laugh that filled her with a deep magical warmth.

- I'm not your enemy, my princess. It's strange, I never thought I would say that to Hild´s daughter, but today you have earned my respect.

Somewhere in her mind, the voice echoed with warmth and Urd stopped fighting, she was terribly tired, and nonexistence somehow seemed attractive, then she recognized the voice.

- Wotan? - What?, What happened?

As answer, Urd hear his deep voice begin to sing a song of full of magic, it was a beautiful ancient healing chant. She felt a warmth that enveloped her body, and gradually the darkness in which she was immersed began to disappear. Urd shuddered at the power of that old magic. A part of her began to observe it comparing it with her own magic, this magic was simpler, more primitive and perhaps more powerful as befitting of an ancient demon. Then she heard words:

- My princess, you are better than i thought if you are willing to analyze my magic . Later I will let you study it as much as you like, you've earned it, I will have no secrets for you. But for now just try to open your eyes.

Urd felt like a child scolded by a teacher after trying to steal the results of a test, and that helped to tidy up her mind. She sighed and tried to open her eyes.

She closed them immediately; all she saw was a confused glow full of green and blue flashes. Then she forced herself to open them again. At first everything was out of focus but gradually began to take shape, it was hard to recognize what she saw.

The world had become a beautiful filigree of lace fabric. But it was not lace but magic power lines woven into a subtle fabric of blue and green, slowly tying with each other, forming a grid of lace around the entire space as far as she could see. It was a network that had grown and now protected the walls of the great cavern, while other lines of lace went around the insane guards. They tried to repel it to no avail. With an unimaginable delicacy the lace was irresistible yet gentle. It grew and began to wrap the guards that became motionless as it touched them, as a delicious slumber invaded them.

That was the magic of an ancient demon, subtle yet complex and powerful. Urd watched mesmerized. The lace had all the beauty of the magical song that old demon had chanted. It´s beauty was overwhelming and Urd felt embarrassed by her previous display of blind and destructive fury. Then she noticed that at the inexorable advance of that magic, many guards began to disappear. -They are running!,- she exclaimed concerned:

- We must go after them, before they cause more damage, I ... - Urd tried to move, but her body refused to obey ...The demon simply held her a little closer and gently pressed her against his chest, as if comforting a little girl.

- We will do it my princess, but your work here is done.

Then Urd remembered something and cried.

- Bragg, what happened to him, let me go, I want to see him!

Wotan spoke softly

- He still it´s alive, no one weak manages to became an Elite guard, but I cannotguarantee he will survive, For now I have placed him in a suspension cocoon.

Then before them, amid a soft glow, two figures materialized, When the newcomers saw Wotan carrying Urd´s battered bodyin his hands they lowered their heads embarrassed. Urd recognized them and with some effort asked:

- Ekur, Shulgi! What happened?

One of them, Ekur, raised his face and had to fight his tears at the sight of Urd´s hurt body, not only was it was covered with burns and wounds, but a broken glow in some parts showed some of her inner core was also damaged. He answered with a quavering voice.

- Urd-Sama, All suspended guards have been reanimated and freed from their loyalty spell, but we took some time to make sure they would not be infected. As you said, Hjörþrimul, Sanngríðr and Svipul were the leaders and willingly they have sworn a new allegiance to Hild . We have ordered them to locate and capture the infected guards without harming them. It will be difficult, but not impossible, Shulgi had a wonderful idea on how to locate them using their power supply channel. The freed guards are not using them now so we can track the infected ones. We were able to communicate with Walharen and he says it's possible. The leaders of the freed guard agreed on the plan, in a few hours all the infected will be captured. We ask your forgiveness for taking so long, it is entirely our fault that ...

- Silence. - Urd said, with pain on her voice and Ekur fell to the ground in fear, but Urd told him with some effort - Ekur, Shulgi, I will ensure that my mother ratifies the titles I have given to you. You followed me when everything seemed to be against us, you fulfilled my orders and show me you are able to make hard decisions. Get up, I do not want to see you prostrate before me, I want you to look directly into my eyes. - The two young demons rose slowly and looked shyly at Urd, she swallow to overcome her emotions, smiled at then and just said,

-Thank you!

Behind them, another demon materialized, he was the head of healers, he looked at Urd first and then sternly looked around him

- I see that some of you have begun to use healing magic. - He exclaimed with mock severity - Wotan, I know that you are considered an expert in magic chants, but I am the only certified healer here..

Urd looked to the healer and was able to say.

- First you must attend Bragg, It´s an order, his condition is more serious than mine, I ...

The old healer could not avoid softening his gaze and interrupted her

- My Princess Urd, Wotan already told you, your work here is finished. From now on, you are just another patient and you can no longer give orders. I promise I will look at Bragg, but I am the only one that will give orders from here on.

Urd tried to protest but the healer began chanting a spell. She tried to fight when she felt she was being wrapped in a cocoon of light, then uttered a last protest until she saw what the other demons also began to sing and to unite their magic to the healer. Urd finally stopped struggling and sighed with resignation. Apparently there was another rebellion on the works ... Fortunately this was friendly ...

* * *

Keiichi felt he was losing consciousness. Without warning the god had raised his arm and murmured a few words, immediately he was surrounded by darkness. Something had entered his mind and he tried to fight the intruder, he knew he had to fight the gods' magic that was trying to destroy his disembodied consciousness.

The god had mercilessly attacked him without any attempt to verify his accusations.

His innate sense of justice rebelled, that was bad of a human, but that was an intolerable way of acting for a major god. From Keiichi heart emerged a will to fight that surprised him. He was not going to fight for his own life , but because he had a duty to perform. A powerful thought came over him: He was a judge, a judge of the **Order of the mortal Knights. **He had received the authority to judge for the sake of mortals, demons and gods. He had authority!

He had authority ...? What was his authority?

At the ceremony where Belldandy, as Kamisama, had appointed him as a judge of gods, he had protested:

- But I know nothing about the laws of gods and demons. How can I be a judge?

Belldandy had looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes and in a tone that reflected eons of wisdom, then told him

- True justice is not in the laws but in the ability to understand what is good and bad. You must trust the judgment of your heart, trust your ability to recognize the injustices and trust the judgment of your mind to balance the evidence. Keiichi I have seen your heart and know it´s wise. That is your strength, that's why your life has the power to change the heart of the gods that you have touched, So just in order that you remember it I leave you my protection,

Then Belldandy had approached him, gently took his face in his hands and had given him a gentle kiss on the lips that had shaken the young mortal to the depths of his inner being. Such was the power of Belldandy, goddess among goddesses.

Now, remembering that, Keiichi felt a force that he had never felt before, a pride that he had never felt before and a resolution he had never felt before, and then he fully realized that HE WAS A JUDGE ...

He had the authority of his heart and the protection of the kiss of the goddess among goddesses.

As if suddenly awakening from a dream, he drove out the alien presence that faded away as if the torn away a nasty spider web. He realized it had taken only a fraction of a second. He stared as his attacker and was reward by an expression of surprise.

- You're just a mortal How did you survive that?

Keiichi looked at him, he blushed at the memory of Belldandy's kiss, but then overcome his natural shyness and factually said:

-I have the protection of a goddesses love.

The god extended his hand forward, and muttered an incantation. but this time a slight glow appeared around Keiichi and the god exclaimed surprised.

- There is a magical barrier around you, I recognize that magic. Why are you protected by Belldandy?

Keiichi tried to speak, but the god ignored him and said.

- No matter, I have no time now for you, I must take control of Yggdrasil, I will study you later.

With a sneer he materialized something in his hands and threw it against Keiichi. Keiichi recognized it immediately, it was a metal disc surrounded by magical symbols that Keiichi was able to read. The disc was identical to discs he had used to seal the demons in the battle of the temple.

Despite his timid appearance, Keiichi was an expert driver and his reflexes were the best. With a slight smile, he extended his hand, threw the mental command had Urd had taught him and disabled the magic seal. The disk fell harmless on his hand. He smiled, He knew it had been risky, but he was aware that now his credentials were the highest in the system, the magic seal had just accepted them.

The god looked at the young man again, this time he was definitely intrigued ...

- You disabled the seal ...? But you're just a mortal - The gods attitude of contempt disappeared, this time he look more attentively at the young mortal. - How did you learn to do that?

Keiichi cautiously looked at the god. For the time being he did not seemed eager to attack again, maybe if he could make him talk ...

- Belldandy and Urd taught me, I have used those to seal various demons at the battle of Tarikihongan temple - the god stared at the mortal analyzing his words. Keiichi tried to use that opportunity to reason with him. - I do not want to fight you, but I want to be certain of why you attack me for no reason, and above all, i want to make sure you are really Belldandy's father, I heard you were dead long ago.

But the god reacted angrily at Keiichi's conciliatory words.

- Just for a few tricks, you will not make me deliver information, I do not owe anything to mortals - Then with an imperceptible gesture, he made something appear between his hands, Keiichi felt a chill, he had seen Hild using something similar. That spell could transform any living thing into something unrecognizable. When Hild had tried to used it on him, Belldandy had barely managed to stop it with all her power. That was magic from Hell, he did not know how to stop it. Keiichi knew it was time to use the magic that have been given by the rulers of heaven and hell. Even if that would trigger all the system´s alarms, but the god seem to be eager to use forbidden magic. Before the god had time to react, Keiichi utter the words that would call ancient magic, the secret magic that would protect a judge:

- _Vindum vindum vef darraðar þann er ungr konungr átti fyrri. Fram skulum ganga ok í folk vaða þar er vinir várir vápnum skipta._

Immediately he heard a voice in his mind, it was deep and inhuman – Invocation approved. A Judge's authority needs to be endorsed. Releasing defense and offensive measures. Activating full privileges.- Immediately Keiichi´s mind was flooded with ancient knowledge, and in his right hand he felt something solid. He did not need to see it, He knew what it was and how it worked. It was the weapon of the first born. A weapon designed to fight gods.

The god felt something strange emanating from the mortal, so he immediately threw the magic object to Keiichi. In Keiichi´s mind an analysis of the object appeared and automatically a shield was formed, now Keiichi knew what to do. He extended his hand, his palm facing the object. Then it crashed against his hand and burned with a magic fire. This time the god was stunned. Something had changed in the young mortal, then he looked at his face. He HAD MAGIC MARKS!

Keiichi spoke again but this time his voice was different, he could barely recognize his own voice, but knew the reason, he was now Keiichi judge of gods and demons, there was power, real power behind him.

- I have told you before, I am Keiichi Morisato, judge of the Order of the mortal Knights. I can feel that your heart is full of hate and ambition. You have attacked without provocation and to my request for an explanation of your reasons, you have repeated your aggression. It is an assault on a judge and so I have to judge your actions. I am ready to hear your reasons and your circumstances to be fair. Speak up!.

The god looked at Keiichi, he could feel he was in the presence of power, a power long forgotten, for the first time he doubted, This mortal had the marking of an ancient judge, yet his heart could not accept it. He had always seen mortals as inferior beings, so after a moment, hatred was back on his face:

- The ancient judges belonged to the greatest of the ancient races, so this can not be. Only madness has transformed this dignity into an empty title in order to give it to a mortal. Lets see what the title is worth, get ready mortal, you will know what is the true fury of a god.

* * *

The man laughed madly as bullets tore the clothes of the young girl, while women began to scream in terror. Soon everyone else started screaming too. The bearded man almost finished emptying the clip. Despite the midday sun, a shiver ran through him, without thinking, he had futilely continued pulling the trigger of his weapon.

In front of him, instead of a broken body, the young girl was still standing up, her clothes were tattered but her attitude was not defiant anymore, instead now her face displayed a dignity that was breathtaking. Underneath her torn clothes her white skin looked completely intact.

- What sorcery is this? - Shouted the bearded man, his bulging eyes were bloodshot with rage.

His men looked confused at the young girl ,they knew that what they were watching was something supernatural, they began to shout with fear.

- A demon!, a demon! At that cry, the dignified figure raised her hand with a gesture that forced everybody into silence, then spoke in a soft voice yet it penetrated the depths of their hearts:

- I'm not a demon!.

With a gesture of contempt the man screamed,

- Demon or not, you can not save those women, He raised the detonator, but before he could use it, the figure said with a voice full of authority:

- I'm a goddess.

At that moment from her body emerged a creature. It was the most beautiful creature they had ever seen, she was an angel with great wings and a sweet smile.

The men screamed, some with horror, some with wonder and surprise, and others throw themselves to the floor and started praying. The bearded man quickly recovered and screamed.

- You can be no goddess, you're a demon and I will punish you ... - he tried to press the detonator, but before that the angel stretched out her hand and the detonator became ashes.

The bearded man shouted in surprise, still his face showed only hate, before anyone could react, he snatched a sub machine gun from one of the prostrate men around him and without a word began shooting toward the women.

But faster than the human eye could perceive, the angel flew in front of the women, spreading her wings. Bullets ricocheted in all directions, wounding some of his own men as they were repelled by her wings.

The confusion now was total among the terrorists, then to add more, one of them pointed to the minefield cried an unintelligible warning.

Being engrossed with the angel, no one had noticed that a group of armed men in unmarked military uniform came running through the minefield. They zigzagged from side to side with inhuman speed and dodged the places where the mines were. Before the terrorists could react, the armed men were upon them screaming as madmen.

The confusion among the people was complete, men shouting, women crying, invaders screaming, and all these mixed with the sound of the prayers and cries of superstitious terror.

Still some managed to react and there was a brief battle, while many of the terrorists were lying on the floor praying, there was shootings before all were submitted. Soon many men from both parties were lying wounded on the ground.

Those remaining began to throw their weapons down and were soon captured without further resistance. The sight of the fallen on the ground and the floating angel on the sky filled them with superstitious fear. They barely dared to protest when they were tied.

The bearded man had been in a stupor by the sudden invasion. There was fear in his face. He looked at the goddess and screamed.

- Goddess or demon, I do not care, the power remains mine, albeit it´s the last thing I will do with my life. - He took a bag he was carrying in his belt and pulled out a small vial wrapped in cloth. The vial contained a crystalline substance and without saying anything he threw it to the floor and with the last gun bullets he shot at it.

The vial broke into pieces scattering its contents in the air ... And then ...

NOTHING! ... Nothing happened.!

The man screamed at the top of his lungs ...

- Why does it not explode!, I saw its power …!

A man from the armed invaders advanced to him and said:

- Because it´s only salt, common salt completely harmless.

The man looked at the speaker, immediately recognized him:

- Hervieux ... How did you? ... - He was incredulous. - ... What did I see?, I saw the power it contained, I saw this girl make them explode.

- That power was not in the crystals, what you saw was the power of a goddess, she was only pretending to be a weak girl.

Hervieux looked at the goddess in wonder but was interrupted by the bearded man.

- So you betrayed us from the start. You had it planned, you betrayed your people, you have betrayed us all.

- Silence - Hervieux shout angrily - I'm not the one who has betrayed his people. You have brought death to this people, you have sacrificed innocent people at the altar of your hatred. You almost made me your accomplice but ...

Without finishing his words he advanced toward the young girl and knelt before her.

- I am honored by the opportunity you gave me to redeem myself. You are not a goddess from my religion, but still I thank you.

She looked at him, she lifted her arms and she was wrapped into brilliance, her torn clothes were turned into a beautiful uniform that looked like a military dress, she was not longer a fragile girl. She was now the image of a proud warrior goddess, she was Ghadril the Valkyrie. Hervieux observed marveled at the transformation, and said:

- So this is your true form. - And then he looked down, feeling unworthy of looking at her.

The goddess looked around and everyone looked down ashamed unable to meet her gaze. The she looked at Hervieux and said:

- You do not have to kneel before me, you still have a mission to accomplish toward your people, I can feel that your heart still aches.

Ghadril then turned to look at the women behind her and they cried in fear of the goddess's gaze. The goddess extended her hand and produced her ax pole. With precise movements that the human eye could not follow she cut the bonds of the women, the explosive charges fell to the floor, the she disintegrated them with her ax.

Her angel descended among the women, extended her pristine hands and touched them. At her touch the surprised womenstopped their mournful cries , they felt the wonder of being honored by her, now they were filled with a peace.

Then Hervieux ran towards the women, he knew several of them since his childhood, when he was just a small boy with big dreams, he began to cry as they embraced him.

But the bearded man was not finished and shouted:

- You can not leave me so soon, remember that you killed one of those foreigners, they'll never forgive you because ...

- We can forgive him, because he has not killed anyone ...

Among the men in uniform an especially brawny man, spoke with a heavy French accent. The bearded man looked at him in horror.

- You should be dead, my men saw your bloody corpse, they would have not dared to lie to me.

In response with a mocking voice he said

- That was just an old movie trick with artificial blood.

Hervieux wiped his tears and separated from the women. He advanced towards the newcomer and said humbly:

- Sergeant Valois. Can you ever forgive me for what I did, for endangering so many people, especially that young girl...

The bearded man cried with despair, his world began to fall apart. He bent down to pull a knife he had hidden in his boot and with a shriek he ran against Lieutenant Valois screaming in rage.

- You should be dead ...!

Valois saw him and set his feet. He received him with a quick movement from his left arm that deflected the knife and with his right threw a powerful blow to the man´s stomach. He collapsed breathless. Immediately Valois men ran and immobilized him on the floor. The action had lasted just a few seconds, Valois felt a slight outrage feeling that everything had been so easy, He looked down at the prostrate man and then ignored him. He advanced to meet Hervieux, extending an open hand and told him.

- I have nothing to forgive, I have seen the kind of man you really are and the dangers you have faced to correct your actions. With the information you obtained by pretending to be one of them we could catch all the hidden agents and now ... - He said gesturing around- we have captured the most dangerous one, thanks to you, the world will be a safer place.

Hervieux hesitated and looked at Valois, he repeated the gesture, finally Hervieux also extended his hand and took Valois hand, both men shook hands vigorously, the would never again be strangers, there was a bond between them. Finally Valois said:

- Now our work ...

- Still is not finished ... He was interrupted and everyone turned at the newcomer. It was Shugahara and Sentaro. They had covered the last few meters of the minefield, but this time avoiding detonating more mines to avoid drawing attention. Shugahara continued. - We still have a lot to do. All these men are still full of hate ...

Hervieux and Valois looked at him and saw that Shugahara pointed all around, not just to the terrorists.

Valois released Hervieux's hand, then clenched his fists, he felt that it was an unfair claim, he spoke unable to contain his irritation:

- These are the men you asked me to gather, it is true that many of them are full of hatred, but their hatred is justified, most of them have lost a loved one at the terrorists hands, or have been their victims, that is why they agreed to help.

Shugahara looked closer at them. In some of them he could see signs of old wounds, or lost limbs and he needed no guessing to know what was in their hearts. Most of them had accepted Valois invitation with the expectation of revenge, then Shugahara nodded and bowed his head as apologizing and said:

- I did not say that their hatred is unjustified, I just said that it should go away, but first I need to attend to those men.

He signaled to some figures prostrate on the ground, they were the terrorists who had tried to repel the attack and had fallen to the bullets of the military.

- They are terrorists, - growled Valois , we must first attend to my men, some of them were also injured.

- Those are very badly hurt, I will not let them die, at least today hatred should not cause more deaths.

Shugahara asked them to gather the wounded men. Their bloodied bodies barely showed signs of life. He took his small metal box and then began to use Urd´s magic potions to address them, the magic effect was stunning. All exclaimed in wonder at that new miracle that occurred before them. Shugahara signaled them to bring the rest of the wounded. There were at least a dozen man more.

Shugahara was so engrossed with treating them that he did not see some else was kneeling at his side It was Ghadril, she said.

- Let me help you , You have shown your bare heart at helping your enemies, you really deserve the title of judge.

Then Ghadril started a healing chant that increased the power of Urd´s healing magic. Man and Goddess began to treat the wounded without regard to their identity, everyone received the same treatment.

A murmur began among the people of the town, the terrorist and the soldiers.

- The gods and their envoys have arrived. - Before their astonished eyes a goddess was walking among men, treating their wounds..

Finally Ghadril and Shugahara healed all the wounded. The men looked astound where their wounds had been. Only then Shugahara payed attention to the bearded man lying helpless, now tied on the floor. He pointed at him and ordered to the men around

- Bring him along, it's time to treat him too.

Hervieux and Valois looked puzzled ... Treat him? He showed no wounds.

Shugahara looked around, signaled to a building and asked.

- Is that the school where the young teacher was killed?

Hervieux nodded, his face began to be filled with tears.

- Yes, that girl was my niece, I convinced her to be a teacher, I paid her studies and asked her to help our people and because of me she paid with her life. He must now pay for it.

Shugahara looked at Hervieux with sadness and shook his head, then just said.

- Come with me.

The group began to walk towards the old building. Shugahara walked along Ghadril while her angel was flying above them, it was a wonderful vision, gradually everyone joined them in a procession.

Finally they arrive at the old school, the angel flew through the walls and went directly to the blood stain still visible on the floor. Slowly she descended to the ground and knelt. she touched the stain and it began to emit a soft glow while her silent face began to show pain and sorrow.

Shugahara and the rest entered into the room, he glanced at Ghadril and she nodded, Ghadril looked at her angel , after a silent conversation the winged creature floated toward the bearded man. He became filled with horror at the sight of the beautiful creature advancing toward him.

- What kind of torture would you give me? But he was silenced when the creature stretched out her hands and gently stroked his face before taking it between her two hands ...

The man was petrified, his face gradually abandoned his expression of terror mixed with hate, to be filled with sadness. Tears started running down his face as the memories and the feelings of the young teacher flooded his mind. There was a world that he ha never imagined, a world of promises and now shattered dreams.

The angel released him and then disappeared through the roof but after a few seconds it returned through the door, she was floating and was trailing two people by their hands, one was a little girl, the other a soldier with a missing hand. They were so fascinated by the angel that they did not realized that the bearded man was there. They suddenly stopped at his sight, the girl began to cry in terror, the man swore with hate. Still they could not protest when the angel pushed to get near and made them put their hands on the man's face, then the magic of the goddess and her angel bought their minds together.

The bearded man shuddered, his mind began to feel the fear of one and the hate of the other, along with their visions of him and fragments of their life. Butalso the girl and the man could also feel the feelings and life of the bearded man. They saw a miserable life full of injustices real and otherwise, which he had manage to survive only sustained and fed by fanaticism and hatred.

In return the bearded man received pity from the girl and comprehension while not forgiveness from the man, Shugahara spoke to Ghadril:

- You've really been able to understand the hearts of men. So help me heal all these hearts full of fear and hatred.- while pointing all around him - That is an enemy far more terrible than any you have fought against.

Ghadril then advanced in front of Shugahara, knelled down with one knee on the ground as a sign of respect. In the minds of everyone the vision of a goddess kneeling before man's made then awe.

Who could be that man? Ghadril got up and started singing, it was the most beautiful song they had heard, a beautiful hymn that filled them with peace, while her angel continued bringing people to share and release the burden that they hid in their hearts, not only with the bearded man, but between everyone nearby and that night, in a small village in the desert, mankind lived a glimpse of what the future could bring.

* * *

Belldandy separated from Lind, they knew there was still urgent business.

- You must get out of my mind before it's too late, I am starting to feel my protection barriers attempting to shut you access.

Lind agreed, it would be much easier now that she had all her powers, she rose in the air and rising looked around, this world was Belldandy's mind and now it had recovered all its beauty and complexity, this was the mind of a great goddess and she felt the satisfaction of having helped free her.

Gradually the landscape began to dissolve, as she entered the data stream that connected the real world with the mind of the goddess and then ...

...Lind opened her eyes.

The other Valkyries were still sitting around Belldandy's body, but the exhaustion on their faces was evident, and not only that, their bodies were now translucent

- Welcome Lind.- said Herja- Your mission has been a success, we have completed our last big goal. To protect Kamisama. Thank you for entrusting us in this mission.

Lind rose slowly, still trying to understand what was going on, but soon she knew it. The self-destruct code had already startedand there was little time left. Soon they would disappear.

Lind felt a deep sadness, yet could not understand the reason, the purpose of a Valkyrie was to protect their world, to protect Kamisama. They had given their lives for that purpose, she should not be sorrowful, yet her heart ached and her eyes became wet. So she closed her eyes unable to meet the gaze of her peers and said

- Herja, Oth, Rota, Eir. Belldandy is safe now and soon will regain consciousness, you can release her body.

The Valkyries interrupted their concentration and gradually rose, then they advanced and surrounded Lind. Herja spoke first:

- Lind, I think you've softened - she said while extending her hand to touch one of Lind´s tears and smiled at the feeling it transmitted, the other Valkyrie followed her example - Thanks , I appreciate this because I understand what it means. We will leave soon, now you should report what happened here, as the one that started the Ragna protocol you still have some time before accompanying us. We trust you, so that our name can be remembered with honor.

They were interrupted by a voice ...

- NO!, I have to try to save you!

It was Belldandy´s voice as she struggled up ignoring the wounds of her physical body.

Hearing their voice, the Valkyries went in front of her put one knee on the ground, bowing their head respectfully.

- Belldandy-sama. We have been your shield, it has been an honor to give our lives for you, we have done our duty, we now must fulfill our destiny, there is nothing we need to be saved from.

One by one, they began to dissolve, while Belldandy's eyes became filled with tears. She knew they were right and yet felt the pain of knowing that despite being the most powerful being of their universe, she had not the power to save them. Then she accepted it and bowed her head in respect for the vanishing warriors.

- Herja, Oth, Rota, Eir and Alruna, The highest among the Valkyries, you will be forever in my heart. -Thank you!

A few moments later Lind and Belldandy were alone in the ruined cavern. Lind spoke:

- We must go to the high council, my duty now is to present a full report on what happened, so that their names will become free from guilt and dishonor. After that I must join them. We must hurry, there is not much time left.

At these words, the face of Belldandy flooded in tears again.

Could she save Lind? . Then she remembered her father´s words, there was a way but it was too cruel. He had not said what it was, but now Belldandy had guessed ... What else could be more cruel to a Valkyrie?. Could she be that cruel in order to spare her life?

Belldandy made a decision and a painful expression came over her face at realizing she could be cruel, she knew there was selfishness in her action since she would go against her friend´s will. She had once said if she had a choice between saving Keiichi´s life and saving the earth, she would choose Keiichi. Yes, that was part of her selfishness; she felt better at recognizing her imperfections, then faced Lind and said:

- Lind, I hope sometime you will be able to forgive me. I just discovered that I am a very selfish person and I can not bear to lose you.

Belldandy advanced toward Lind, who looked bewildered as she placed the palm of her hand on the Valkyrie´s face, Lind was unable to turn away from her authority, and Belldandy started singing a complex spell. Lind screamed, yet was unable to move away, she was bound by the power of Kamisama.

- Please Belldandy, Stop!, I have to fulfill my destiny ...

- Forgive me Lind, please forgive me.!

* * *

At Yggdrasil´s control room, an alarm sounded and the god´s hearts were petrified.

It was the sound of an alarm they had never heard, yet everyone knew it´s meaning. The Ragna protocol had been invoked. It meant the Great Council of the Valkyries had acted against Kamisama and now the leader of the rebellion should appear before the council to explain her actions before being executed.

Peorth dropped to the ground, after all the misfortunes that had happened, this was beyond anything she could bear, how could Lind and the other Valkyrie act against Belldandy? What reasons might have had? This was the greatest crime that could be conceived on their universe. Kamisama was thesupreme god´s authority.

But the Ragna protocol was clear and it had been imbued within each and every one of the gods so they were bound by it. Everyone knew now what to do. As in trance, Peorth and the other gods began chanting a dirge, that was the law, they should unite their voices in song to erase the crime and prepare to hear the trial of the Valkyrie ...

Then a voice shouted.

-Stop that nonsense- Everyone fell silent immediately, not only by the order, but because someone had dared to call nonsense to one of the most sacred rituals of their world, and that someone was a senior member of the council. It was the Tyr´s voice - It´s useless to sing, there are millions of gods who can do it and still we have a job to do. We can not leave it now. Something quite unusual is happening, we can not ignore it.

Peorth looked at the god in awe, Tyr smiled and said.

- Do not worry. This time I will assume all the blame ...

* * *

Keiichi turned around quickly, and almost as a reflex acted as Ghadril had taught him, he put forward his weapon, it opened and extended as a long pole that crossed the dark mass at the center.

Upon contact with the weapon, the ominous dark magic exploded violently, Keiichi´s weapon automatically created a protective barrier, but he could see it´s effect with the data around him. Then Keiichi heard a scream and turned to see the cause.

The god watched his hand in surprised. The feedback had caused a burn. Keiichi look at him worried, it had not been his intention to hurt him:

- Sorry about that, but if your intention was to scare me, I must say that compared to Hild you are just an amateur.

This time the god was more than astounded, he looked carefully at the human, but not at his virtual image but to his bare code.

- You know about the magical seals, and you have faced Hild - he observed Keiichi's weapon - You have one of the weapons of the first born. You can not be an ordinary mortal, that ability was not part of your design.

The god looked at his hand in disgust and focused on healing it, then turned his attention back to Keiichi and especially the weapon, he could no longer hide his curiosity.

- All those weapons were destroyed eons ago and only the Valkyries had been safekeeping a few. How did you get it?

Keiichi sighed, that curiosity was better than the god's anger, and he had really nothing to hide.

- It was Lind who handed it to me, she trust me. I exchanged vows of friendship with Lind after carrying her angel, Cool-mint, for a short time.

This time the man gasped.

- Impossible, I knew that cold Valkyrie and she never could have been friends with anyone, she was just interested in being more and more powerful, much less she would allow a mortal to take her angel.

Keiichi felt that if he could get him to talk, he could avoid fighting. He continued his explanation.

- Then you did not really know Lind. She just wanted to be able to invoke her twin angels Spear Mint and Cool Mint simultaneously, and she thought she had to have more power for that, but we found she was wrong

- Do you even know that? Very few knew about her twin angels. How did you know their names?

- They told me their names, and I can tell you I miss them, - Keiichi pointed to his chest - since one of them had been inside me, now I can understand god's more than I ever thought. The feeling of emptiness I knew after her angel had to return to Lind would be unbearable if not for the Belldandy´s love.

Upon hearing the latest the man's face softened, he finally understood there was something extraordinary in that mortal, then carefully inspected his aura, until then he had not paid attention to it.

The god began to understand. He was a mortal that could bear a god´s angel, a mortal who could wield the weapon of the first born and a mortal who could count on the love of a goddess, the love of the goddess among goddesses, the love of his own daughter ...

Keiichi felt his change of attitude, he contracted the weapon until it fit in the palm of his hand and hid it, slowly he began to approach the god. The god look at him and wondered: .

- You should not exist, it´s too early, only a careful handling of generations of mortals could ... And also we would need her permission ... - The man shuddered as receiving a revelation, he was getting excited and fascinated -Yes, the predictive defense programs should have done it, they hastened your appearance, that should be the answer, the program must have predicted that a major threat hovered over the multiverse and speed this up ... But ...

Keiichi was already in front of the god and without saying anything, he extended his hand, The god did not knew why but he also extended his. At the contact he felt a sense of peace that came over him, slowly his plans, his hatred, his ambitions, all that seemed now to be so childish ... Suddenly his face filled with pain as he realized what he had been about to cause ...

He looked directly into Keiichi´s eyes, trying to read behind them. Yes, there was no doubt. Young, inexperienced, but he could feel it now. He closed his eyes as a current of empathy established between them, then slowly open them and said to the young mortal.

- You are welcome, son of Gaia.

* * *

**_End of Chapter XXXII_**


	33. Chapter 33 - at the heart of Yggdrasil

**I apologize for the long time it took, but I was sick and I went through a surgery that prevented me concentrate on the story, but finally is here so I hope you like this chapter.**

_Elnauhual_

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

_By Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXXIII

**At the heart of Yggdrasil**

The night at the semi-desert place was a magnificent spectacle. Without the lights and fumes of the civilization the stars shone with a breathtaking splendor. Under that spectacle, leaning on a rock was a lonely man who was trying to concentrate on the bright screen of his laptop. However, it could not capture his attention. He was trying to write, but just typed, erased and corrected again and again, unable to translate his ideas. Finally he gave up and with and angry gesture turned off the machine, He closed his eyes to try to regain his night vision lost due the glare of the screen, meanwhile he meditated trying to organize his ideas. After a while he opened his eyes and looked at the starry sky. It was not the familiar sky where he was born, but neither was it unknown. Along his travels around the world he had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the stars of other latitudes. Slowly his full night vision began to return, he patiently waited as more and more stars became visible and with them he felt he regained an inner peace.

With certain resignation he leaned back comfortably on the ground to watch the magnificent starry sky and mentally hailed the visible constellations. He was enthralled as his vision was able to discern them; he softly spoke remembering the most ancient names he knew. Some names came from Greece, other Japan, Rome, Sumer and Mesoamerica. Each culture had given them different names, he could not help thinking that the oldest names were now lost, and yet the constellations stayed the same without apparent change. He smiled and thought he had been a fool trying to write down what had happened that day. His training as a scientist made him think he had to document everything, but now he had to accept he was so overwhelmed to do it, that would have to wait. After all he was just a human being.

Under the starry sky he realized he was a small and tiny speckle in the middle of the universe, yet he knew what he had done could change the destiny of humanity and he felt a shudder at the thought. He was a mortal who had intervened in the affairs of the gods, and then felt a kind of premonition. His actions had the potential to affect even the same stars and the thought was terribly disturbing. That was something only the gods should do, then athought of a particular goddess came into his mind and with a soft whisper a sentence escaped involuntarily from his lips:

- Urth, my goddess, where are you?

But the starry sky seemed unwilling to answer. He knew she was waging a struggle against an unknown enemy. His reason told him that his goddess was powerful so he didn't need to be scared but his human heart said otherwise. That idea was strange: to protect a goddess! That idea had taken him farther than he had ever imagined and gone into unexpected ways that ultimately had brought him to this lonely place.

Then Shugahara Kenji straightened and just sat for a moment on the cold ground. Then peered away into the dark looking for the dim lights of the town where something wonderful had happened that day. At least for one night, enemies, friends, strangers, foreigners, men, women, youth, children and elderly had joined into one, sharing their humanity and he was responsible for all that. He shuddered at the thought of having the power to do so. That was not something he wanted, he was just a man, a mortal, even when the gods had said he was now something else. Was he really a judge of demons and gods? At first he had seen it as a purely ceremonial title, but what happened to Galileo had shown him that it was much more than a title.

He remembered when he had had his first encounter with the supernatural, when the Tear of Hild had tried to seduce him with power. He had somehow passed that test, but deep down he knew he was not completely immune to the call of power. He would have to be on guard against his own thoughts. At the thought he uttered an ancient curse in a dead language that echoed in the silence of the night and then was shocked by his action. Finally he broke into a hearty and contagious laugh at the thought of what his students would have said of the old fashioned professor using those words to express his feelings. Humor was a great medicine, perhaps the most powerful, especially against taking himself too seriously.

Finally with a sigh he realized he had walked to far away from the town in his desire to have a little solitude. He knew there were mines not far away and he should not stray too far from the safe zone. He looked once again at the starry sky and mentally He thanked those constellations that were like old friends and that fortunately could guide him to the town, even if they did not care to answer his former question. Then slowly he made his way back to town.

After long minutes and fearing he had lost his way, he arrived at the town and there, under the yellow light of a haggard old incandescent light he saw two familiar figures. Sentarō and Sergeant Valois were attempting to communicate, with little success. The child´s Japanese was completely incomprehensible to Valois while his heavily accented English was far beyond what the child had learned in school. Kenji stopped a moment enjoying the scene; at least between these two different beings there was an attempt to communicate. Finally he went to act as an interpreter.

The boy looked at him with joy.

- Sensei Shugahara, I've been looking for you, now that Ghadril finished her song, I cannot understand anyone.

Kenji replied smiling.

- I just wanted to walk around trying to write what happened here, but I am too excited to concentrate. I am glad you are trying to talk to the sergeant, he is an excellent person. I hope you would have time to know him better.

- But I do not understand him. I asked him to explain to me how he was able to fake his death and I hear him saying something about ... ... - The child stopped, then blushed and continued- I think he said something about a condom.

Kenji smiled amused; he knew that had been a suggestion of Valois. It was essential that Hervieux earn the terrorists trust, and at the same time Ghadril could be put into the terrorists hands so she could protect the hostages in case the worst happened. At first it seemed Valois plan was crazier than his own plans, but it had been a success. It had been a miracle that Valois had relied on Ghadril skills without checking them first but apparently his desire to protect the young scientist in his care was very strong.

Kenji spoke briefly to Valois to confirm what had been trying to tell him and then began to explain to Sentarō.

- Sergeant Valois was once called to train some actors for a movie and there he learned some special effects. Basically, you place a protective metal plate in the chest, then a small explosive charge that is powered by electricity; on top of that you put on a condom filled with fake blood and tape it with some medical tape , finally you put your clothes on. For a better effect, you can also make some cuts on the clothes so they break more easily with the explosion. So when Hervieux shot blanks, Valois activated the explosive charge that broke the condom and fabric, expelling the fake blood. The result was the perfect illusion of a bullet penetrating the body with a wound full of very convincing fake blood. It's an old movie trick, but still very effective.

The boy looked with admiration to the burly sergeant and thanked him the explanation, the sergeant laughed with an conspiratorial laugh and soon all three were laughing. It was a liberating laughter after the events they had experienced.

Suddenly the doctor felt a presence and looked back. There was a little girl, she was about ten years old and watching them in amazement. The girl was shocked when she realized that Shugahara was looking at her and said something almost incomprehensible, slowly she got nearer, trembling and left a tray of food at their feet. Then she knelt hiding her face.

Kenji was stunned, he tried to speak to her but she trembled again saying something he could not understand. Kenji attempted to comfort her, then had an idea, and asked Sentarō to approach the girl. Sentarō nodded, and knelt beside her and spoke, she lifted her face. She still showed fear at foreign child, but the child's smile made it quickly disappear. Sentarō very gently forced her to get up, but there was still fear on her face. She knew he was a child like her, but also he was a child that could talk to a goddess.

Sentaro overcame his shyness and touched her face, at the touch of his hands she stopped shaking, and fear gradually became wonder. She had seen they had power, they had survived the land mines, and yet they seemed to be very friendly. There was an awkward moment, until they heard a voice and saw a man coming out of the darkness, he was Hervieux, he stopped a few feet away and spoke with reverence reflected in his voice.

- You should not wonder about that, Shugahara, in fact, even I am tempted to bow down to the one to whom the gods obey. What will happen now? Even now I cannot comprehend what happened. I never thought I could forgive that man, and I know that I should doubt that he will change, but reason tells me one thing and my heart says another. I do not understand it. Will this also happen in rest of the world? Is that your plan?

Kenji gulped nervously, he really was not sure, what had happened that day had exceeded all his expectations. He knew Valkyrie were specialists into altering people's memories in order to hide certain events so they were not known to mortals, and in this case he had ordered Ghadril to go beneath their memories to look on the seed of their hatred and try to sooth it, but somehow he went much deeper, she went deep into the human soul, heart and mind, touching the most inner depths and venting their innermost feelings sharing it with other humans. It had had been a beautiful, exhilarating and at the same time terrible and disturbing communion. The results have gone beyond his wildest dreams. How had the warrior goddess gained such knowledge? Kenji was lost in his train of thoughts until he realized everyone was staring at him, he sighed and said:

- The world is not yet prepared to understand what happened here, but I think this is like a seed that will grow very slowly, and as a seed, we need to look after it and nurture it. Also we will have to seed other ideas, not everything may depend on magic. That terrible man, who tried to fill the world with terror, is now trying to convince his followers that the path is not hatred, but also he is aware that it may not survive that effort. The road will be long and I think that blood still can be spilled and we must do everything possible to stop that from happening, so I will need men and women with dreams, willing to trust me on what we are doing. I want you to join me along other dreamers, together we can guide humanity in ways never before dreamed.

Valois and Hervieux and looked at each other, Kenji's words gave them a new goal in their lives to a level that could transcend way beyond anything they had imagined. Hervieux answered first.

- I do not know what plans you have, but I will not return to the CERN, the young teacher that died here, she was also a dreamer, I knew her since she was a child and I encouraged her to stay here, I am responsible. I have a debt so I will take her place. I brought suffering to this place, my own town. I have huge debts to pay here.

Kenji smiled; he was a better judge of men than he gave himself credit. He had expected something like that.

- Then you can help us here too. This is as good a place as any ... And you Valois, there is a young and brilliant woman we need to protect and I fear this is only the first time of many. You also have your responsibility. I have peered into her work, and she can take us to unknown roads, unfortunately many people hate unknowns. We'll stay a few days here, there are many plans we need to prepare, and we must disable many mines, and I mean not only those mines that explode, but also to human actions that in the long term may be even more destructive. Will you join me?

Valois and Hervieux and nodded eagerly. Then Kenji commented.

- Now, speaking of deactivating mines, we must decide what we do with our reporter. By now the outside world should have received many of the pictures he took and I will need a good explanation of events.

Valois commented:

- I think that it was a mistake to let him stay here; let me requisition all his photos and videos. I saw him a few moments ago, he continues to shoot everything, fortunately he only managed to enter the town when Ghadril had finished so he does not understand what happened, still he does not cease to document everything he sees. Tomorrow the world will know that something extraordinary happened here and we will all be known to the world.

- Do not worry, in that sense, we have already exercised a little censorship in what he already sent. I have someone monitoring that. That was how I got the pictures of the minefield and remember he voluntarily gave you the rest of the photos of the mine-free areas. Also I spoke with him earlier and agreed that there should be some censorship. He has agreed not to send any of our faces. He has been a war reporter and understands that. I trust him, he is a good man.

- I must admit that the information he gave us was very useful, but is it really enough to rely on? Also have you thought what story will the world know?

Kenji did not answer, he looked at Sentarō, and he was trying to talk to the girl. While words did not work, somehow communication was still possible. He smiled and let himself to be distracted by that then said thoughtfully.

- It must be a story that does not make us into messiahs or something similar. Mankind must believe in itself, and not place their faith into a man or into magic. Yes, humanity will know that something happened here ... but for a while we leave it as a mystery... Until they find an appropriate explanation in my forthcoming book - he could not help laughing at the thought - You will all be partakers of the biggest conspiracy theory of all time...

* * *

Keiichi could not help but gasp at the greeting of the God. He had heard something about Gaia when Othala had explained to him how he had recovered after the Tarikihongan temple attack. But at the time he was so worried about Belldandy, that barely had paid attention, just remembered it had something do with a strange power coming from earth itself.

Then he felt observed, the god looked at him with intense curiosity, examining his reactions, then the god slowly separated his hand from Keiichi´s, as if he afraid to break something, then he examined his hand carefully, as hoping to see some change on it and said:

- Interesting, I never imagined that a human could have so much power and not realize it. You have a power that is able to change any god that comes in contact with you. - He closed his eyes as if he was trying to gasp what was going on and then opened them with an air of understanding - Now I begin to understand the memories that I drew forcibly from Skuld. You have been in contact with various gods and you have altered their existence, even ... - He hesitated and then said softly - you have changed my daughters, especially Belldandy. I had destined Belldandy to be the greatest among the gods ... You have... - He did not finish talking, he shuddered as trying to fight something, then he wondered- You have changed me, I had my plans, my intentions. What has become of them? What have you done to me?

Keiichi winced, he was afraid that the god had recovered his previous attitude, so he felt the need to explain to him

- I do not want to cause any damage. I love ... - he hesitated before daring to say-I love your daughter Belldandy, I will never harm her, nor those whom she loves.

- Those whom she loves? - The god said softly and looked straight into the deep brown eyes of the mortal- Would my daughter still love me if she knew what I had planned for her?. I considered her a pawn, as a tool, like a puppet that only would serve to take control. - the god suddenly seemed to start to age, his youthful aspect was dissolving and wrinkles appeared on his face, as if the years of his past were revealed, Keiichi exclaimed in alarm.

-Are you alright! Maybe you need to rest, maybe we should ask for help.

The god looked at him and smiled with surprise on his face, Keiichi's genuine concern for him seemed surprising.

- Extraordinary, only a few moments ago I tried to destroy you, yet now you care about me. I can see why Belldandy loves you. I think I have no choice but to accept that you really are one of the great judges, even if it´s difficult to accept. Still I do not understand why there is a human here in Yggdrasil memory? Skuld memories are fuzzy, but I realize we are living in strange times, Hild has become Heavens Ally? And there is a human that there is a great judge? I think I do not belong here, I am starting to feel old.

At those words the god really became older. At his first encounter he looked barely a bit older than Keiichi, but now he looked like a human of sixty years and was aging fast. Keiichi began to understand. The appearance of a god was not about age but about his mental state, the god should be going through a deep crisis. Keiichi stooped seeing in him a mighty god, and instead he saw only a confused person. The young mortal felt his sadness, then examined his own hands. Did he really have the power to change gods? After some doubts he put his hands on the god's shoulders.

- I think I begin understand who you are, is something like when the goddesses are divided into avatars, you must be a fragment of Belldandy father and in a way you are still alive, but I know Belldandy's father was very powerful, judging from Hild´s avatar, you must be still have a lot of power. That power may be needed to protect Belldandy and your world.

- Protect my world? – the god shook his head - Something very strange is going on, but the memories that I took from Skuld are confusing, I have to figure out what's going on.

Keiichi looked into the eyes of the God; He felt a genuine concern for his words and said:

- Then take my own memories!

- And you offer them freely? - Asked the astonished god - In spite of everything I did?

Keiichi nodded with a smile, then the god reached out his hand to touch Keiichi´s face, hesitated a bit, but Keiichi grabbed his hand and pulled it into his own face.

The god began mining the memories of the mortal who did not try to hide or hold anything back. The god saw the first meeting between the mortal and his daughter, he saw what they had spent together and began to wonder. In awe he saw Keiichi´s memories from the battle of the temple, and his actions to help his goddess. Then he saw Belldandy becoming Kamisama, he saw Hild saving his daughters, he saw about the magna truce and Keiichi becoming a judge of gods and mortals.

He was taken aback at the deep love between the young moral and his daughter, and then his eyes were flooded in tears at the images of the destruction of the council chamber that Keiichi had witnessed in a recording. He felt there was much more, but it was beyond Keiichi's memories. The god was horrified by what he had seen, and needed to know more, he extended his free hand and it materialized a control screen, then began to search files into Yggdrasil huge memories, using Keiichi's memories as reference.

The god deftly began collecting information fragments, breaking trough protection barrier, retrieving secret recordings, assembled all that he had learned in great detail what had been happening. As a token he shared with Keiichi those images. The horror of the scenes brought them together.

They saw how Belldandy had been intoxicated with the energy she had absorbed, and they witnessed her transformation into a being dominated by the lust for power. They also saw the effects of infection on his people, at that moment Keiichi's offered a last memory that made the god cry, Keiichi showed him that mortals were working to help demons and gods.

At that moment the god looked at Keiichi in awe and searched once again among the system files, he materialized Keiichi's file. Keiichi was surprised by the file. This was something very special; Keiichi had learned to perceive data systems as tastes and odors. And that file had the taste of very high secret encoded files. But why? Belldandy had told him he was special to the system, so Heaven had sent a goddess first class, the best of all goddess, to protect him. Keiichi had forgotten about that, but here was the proof.

The god frowned and closed his eyes muttering a spell so the file protection broke into pieces. Both began to examine it, but it was too complex for Keiichi, who could only understand that the system gave his life a higher priority than Belldandy ... Then the God separated sharply from Keiichi, who felt pain at the sudden disconnection. The mortal saw the horror and despair in the face of god after he had realized that he had contributed to the state of things.

- Son of Gaia, I tried to destroy you and thereby I have endangered my world, I have interfered with my daughters, and Belldandy was seized by a strange entity, I think everything I've done has only put my world in danger.

The god fell upon his knees moaning, but then Keiichi took him by his shoulders and shouted at him.

- This is no time to get carried away by the burden of your acts. I think you still have a lot of power and you can use it to help us. We believe that in Yggdrasil's memory there is an enemy hidden, the real culprit of the tragedies in Heaven and in Hell. An enemy that we suspect it has been hidden for long, we need to recover Galileo´s memory.

The god was taken by surprise.

- Galileo? Is he the artificial consciousness I saw in your mind! He is here! in Yggdrasil memory?

Keiichi nodded.

- The artificial consciences are prohibited in Yggdrasil, if the system detects him, it will destroy him immediately, if that hidden enemy does not destroy him first.

- But Galileo is now a citizen of the earth...

- That does not matter to the system. - The god was silent a moment, then said, musing. - Now I begin to understand. I'm sure that hidden intruder you are seeking is the cause of the madness, I do not understand how it could penetrate into the depths of the system, but I cannot tolerate its existence. You are right, there is something that I can do, and if I destroy it maybe we can stop the infection of the madness. Maybe doing that I can compensate for what I have done.

The god appeared to regain his youth in response to his new resolution. Suddenly s they heard a buzzing sound and something began to appear in front of them, it looked completely out-of-place.

It looked like an old fashioned computer monitor, at first the screen was out of sync, but then began to stabilize and the image of a beautiful goddess appeared . Keiichi recognize her and was gladly surprised at the familiar face.

- Peorth? - He exclaimed in surprise. How did you locate us? How is that you can communicate with me?.

The goddess looked at him in amazement, and took a few seconds to react, she replied doubtfully.

- Keiichi? Is that really you? And the god besides you looks like Councilman Tyr. But that's impossible; he should be dead along with his wife. He was ambushed in the last days before the truce with Hell.

Keiichi felt a chill. That seemed to explain many things.

- It's a long story how I got here, but yes, He is Belldandy´s father or maybe I should say, one of his avatars, I think he had been hidden into Skuld even before this death, and I suspect there must be another part of him in Urd and Belldandy.

The goddess looked at him; she narrowed her eyes and then she just nodded slowly. Keiichi tried to speak, but was interrupted by Peorth.

- We do not have much time, Keiichi, I'm sure your story will be interesting, but what I want to know right now is this. You did not come alone, your logged into the system in the form of a very important software for us, It´s the ADX Series, this software is part of Yggdrasil system protection, yet we could not find any active copies of it, only scattered code fragments in memory and what is left appears damaged. How is it possible that you have access to a copy of that software? How did you activate it and control it? I have many gods nervous about that. They believe it could be a spy or worse, besides that it is impossible for a human to be able to get into the system as a conscious. No human has that ability.

Keiichi angrily heard the suggestion that Galileo could be dangerous, so he spoke with a poise and determination that surprised Peorth

- This software has a new name: he is called Galileo; he fled from Yggdrasil to take refuge on earth. We gave him asylum and now we have recognized him as a conscious being. - Keiichi overheard exclamations of wonder and fear that came from the screen, apparently his words had not been well received, but that didn't matter, He knew now that there were other listeners- with our authority of judges we accepted him as a denizen from earth, you no longer have jurisdiction over him. But Galileo's memory was damaged while he was trying to take refuge on earth, specifically on my computer. He cannot remember his existence here and who or what destroyed his parent process. That brought us here, looking for the missing information; we believe it has to do with the infection that is affecting the gods. - Keiichi smiled with a hint of bitterness to hear whispers from the screen, he knew the reason. - I know that for some reasons artificial consciences are prohibited in heaven, so we entered here by a backdoor and tried to hide our presence, but it seems that you finally found us.

Peorth had run out of words, it was an incredible story, and then Belldandy's father stepped in and spoke with authority, yet the tension in his voice was evident.

- Peorth, first class goddess. I am the councilor Tyr, and I order you to contact Belldandy and Urd, I have to prevent them. - He hesitated before continuing, but this time his voice lost all this authority, instead he was begging - I cannot reach my other avatars that reside into my daughters. I think at least one of them was destroyed and something very strange happened to the other. Although we are only a fragment of Councilor Tyr, We still have a lot of power, and if one of us gets out of control it can be dangerous, I need to contact them and inform them of the new situation, I beg you goddess Peorth

Peorth paled at Tyr´s words then slowly and painfully said:

- A short while ago it was reported that Ragna protocol was invoked. - And added accusingly - Lind seemed to be the only one that is left from the high council of the sisterhood of the Valkyrie, and soon she also will be executed. The other members of the high council of the sisterhood of the Valkyrie are already dead.

Belldandy's father let out a gasp of horror, and dropped to his knees. He knew there was an explanation for that. He put his hands into his head in horror and said.

- What have I done? - Then added slowly - At the time Belldandy was named Kamisama, my other avatar should have slowly taken control of her in order to fulfill my dream of uniting the multiverse into one. Belldandy needed my guidance and my power. But I just checked the logs and saw that Belldandy was not acting according to what I expect; something must have gone wrong, very wrong.

Another figure appeared on the screen with Peorth. He was Councilman **Myr,** but this time he was not acting as the kind god, but as an angered god, a severe figure representing all the authority of his office. He said accusingly.

- You tried to control Kamisama? Your own daughter Belldandy? She is Kamisama our highest authority. That is high treason councilor Tyr. I always knew you were ambitious, that you could do anything to get whatever you wish for, but I never thought that you could to resort to manipulating your own daughters. Since you were authorized to have three daughters, I should have suspected something strange. Yes Councilor Tyr! I remember you well, and even if you are only a ghost of the real Tyr, you are still responsible. By your words I suspect that Lind discovered that something was insides Belldandy, trying to take control of her, so she decided to act to free Belldandy, even if that would costs her life. As consequence, Lind and the high council of the sisterhood of the Valkyrie have been sacrificed to correct your actions. Do you know the penalty for doing something like that?

- The penalty for treason? yes I know it, I actually wrote it, remember? - He smiled with some bitterness- When I was planning this, it did not seem to be treason, and I just wanted to act against those stupid council members that did not want to see into the future. But now this young mortal, this judge has made me realize what I did.

Keiichi have been following the conversation and was trying to grasp it´s meaning and when he finally realized the implication, he exclaimed in alarm:

-You tried to control Belldandy? What did you do to her? In those recordings she was acting strange, as if she did not care about anyone. That is not how Belldandy would act! You have poisoned her!

- That was not supposed to happen. - Replied the god in pain- Something else must have gotten inside her. I cannot contact my avatar in her. I must contact Belldandy to find out.

Peorth interrupted.

-I have sent a message to Belldandy, asking her to contact me. But she is Kamisama. I am sure she is Ok.

Keiichi insisted:

- And Lind? Why is she is in danger? we know she never would hurt Belldandy, and Councilman Myr already has said he is the culprit, so there is no reason to execute Lind! - Keiichi felt panic: - you must found Belldandy and speak with her, told her what we have found, I trust Lind, if she found out and acted, then all must be well now. She does not deserve to die for helping her. We must save Lind.

Peorth looked sadly at Keiichi.

- Sorry Keiichi this is no longer about who is guilty or not. Lind should have realized something was wrong with Belldandy, that is the only reason I can imagine to invoke the Ragna protocol. This protocol involves calling the high council of the Valkyrie and the death sentence is the price to invoke the Ragna protocol. No matter if she was right or wrong. When the Valkyrie accepted the Ragna protocol, they all knew it was their death sentence, yet they accepted it. From the beginning they knew it. It´s something similar to the doublet system. Once invoked there is no way to stop it. We have no way to save Lind, whether she is right or not. To act against Kamisama it´s the supreme treason, if the reason is right or not, it does not matter. At this moment there is a meeting at the highest level. Belldandy is going to talk; I guess she is alright now. I am sure that if Myr cannot contact his avatar it means that Lind was successful. But that would not save Lind.

Keiichi swallowed hard at grasping the meaning of the Ragna protocol.

- But Councilman Tyr said he is guilty!- Insisted Keiichi, and looked at the god in despair- There must be a way to prevent it- He took the god by his shoulders and shook him - There must be a way, you must tell them the truth, tell Belldandy the truth about you.

The god did not dare to look into his eyes and said: - It will not help. Time is already running and Lind´s death is already programmed into her own goddess code. There is no way to avoid it.

Keiichi beg them:

- There must be a way, Belldandy would not allow it. She is Kamisama; she must have the power to stop it. Please contact her!

From the screen, Councilman Tyr looked at the mortal and felt his pain, He had not imagined that anyone could feel such strong feelings for the cold Lind, and then said sadly.

- Not even Kamisama can stop it, And at this moment not even I have the power to contact Kamisama, interrupting a meeting after the Ragna protocol has been involved. The place is sealed beyond my reach until a decision is made. But there is something urgent, something we can do. We are using undocumented features from Yggdrasil for observation and besides you we have detected that there is another unknown process. At this time the process is in motion and it´s heading toward the entity you call Galileo I have suspicions that it is the same process that destroyed all Yggdrasil's defenses. If this is true, then when the process detects that Galileo comes from the ADX Series it will try to destroy it. Unfortunately, the ADX Series was designed to manipulate the system against external threats, but not internal, so it does not have any defense against an attack from inside the system.

Keiichi looked at the screen, his face showed determination, then again he wielded the weapon of the first born and spoke to the god which still had his hands on his head as not wanting to hear anything.

- I don´t know why you tried to control Belldandy; I am willing to accept that as her father you did not tried to harm her. But if we cannot do anything for Belldandy and Lind, then at least we must do something. You must help me to protect the system and Galileo.

The god looked at Keiichi with humility, and then as Keiichi's words sank into his conscious, his face hardened, and muttered a spell that sounded familiar to Keiichi. A flash enveloped the god and his appearance changed, Keiichi immediately recognized the new outfit, it was the battle uniform of the gods. Then the god shouted at the screen.

- Peorth, goddess first class! Transfer me immediately to the memory location closest to the intruder. I'll face this menace, this mortal life has already done too much and his life is too valuable...

But the god was interrupted abruptly.

- Wait a second Tyr, your arrogance is still the same. You are officially dead and you do not have any authority to give orders. Keiichi, why were you and Galileo looking in that particular memory area ?

Keiichi felt he was between two powerful gods, but he did not care, his mind was thinking of Belldandy, so he said almost defiantly.

- We detected fragments of code that were almost identical to Galileo´s code, so we thought they had to belong to the software that you call ADX, Galileo´s parent task. Maybe we can recover data from those memory fragments to know about the attacker, the enemy responsible behind the madness.

Myr was surprised by that mortal that seemed to know Yggdrasil as much as he, after thinking a moment replied:

- Then we must you help to recover that memory. Since you already have identified the memory section, I will run an algorithm to try to recover the memory pool and try to repair the damage information as much as I can. But we will need time to recover corrupted information. Since that memory has been declared free by the system, any task can use it an erase the traces, fortunately that is a seldom used node but the stranger is moving toward it. It can wipe it completely. Tyr, did you hear me? If you mindlessly attack the stranger you will corrupt the memory in that area and it will become useless.

- Then I will draw it unto me and take it beyond that area, but you must find a secure memory area where I will destroy it.

Myr gave him a quizzical look:

- And just how do you think you are going to attract it. It´s a stealth process, if you simply attack it, it will vanish from view, and then we will lose it. I can tell from its current movements in memory, it seems it has already chosen its prey. - Keiichi cried at the implications, but was interrupted by Belldandy´s father who answered angrily:

- **Myr, **you were always the genius of the system, you tell me.

- It´s good you remember it, I think I have a plan. I can move you there, but I will exchange your position in memory with Galileo´s position, but before that, I will change you system ID so you appear to be part of the ADX series, so it will go after you. Peorth is already isolating a section from the nodes auxiliary memory that we can afford to damaged. But in doing so, you cannot have all your power, I will put a seal on them so you appear to be similar to ADX, otherwise you will look suspicious and this thing will not fall into the trap. When the information is retrieved, I will break the seal and you must destroy it, you must survive until then.

Keiichi interrupted, he had several ideas going in his head...

- I also must participate, that's why I came here.

The god looked at him straight in his eyes then put his hands on his shoulders and said softly.

- You're a mortal, your life is short and limited, and I have found it´s much richer than I ever can imagine. Belldandy not only loves you, but I also have found special information about you. You're too valuable to risk your life.- Keiichi tried to protest, but the god continued: - I'll leave you something; I hope you will be able to share it with Belldandy.

Before the young mortal had time to react, the god put hands on his temples and started singing.

The impact left Keiichi breathless, then he saw wonderful things and also tragic things, he realized they were memories extracted directly from the god's mind, but Keiichi panicked at the volume of them, even if they were selected, the god had existed for millions of years, it was too much for him. Keiichi tried to make some sense of them and realized that they were old memories that were not in the files, they were very personal memories, along ancient history and very old magic. But it was too much information and too little time. Finally Keiichi could not stand the flow of information anymore and fall unconscious.

- What have you done to the mortal? - Myr askedhim with a demanding tone.

- Nothing dangerous, He will remain unconscious for a while; I overload his mind but not enough to cause damage. I do not wish to harm him; I just don't want him to try to go after me. I'm ready!

- Okay, but I must warn you, the stranger moves very fast in our system, he has lived on it during major eras and maybe he knows it better than us. I'm checking the area where the mortal told us, and indeed there are remains from a failed ADX267 task, but it's very damaged, it was a very deliberate destruction, I can see that logic bombs were used. I do not know if I can retrieve the information, it is too damaged but still I'll try. That information can be vital for us, since the madness continues attacking other gods, and we have not found any way to stop it by ourselves.

- You have not found how it´s done?

Chancellor Myr sighted and lifted a hand, he was wearing a bracelet.

- The Mortals gave us this. At first I reject it as a bad joke, but Lind´s report to the council seemed adamant. She claimed the infection comes from the energy Yggdrasil gives to each one of us. She insisted that the most important members of the council and the Valkyrie use it. This bracelet has pure energy from the mortal world. It is very pure, and none of those who have used this bracelet have been infected. Lind sent some bracelets to the highest level members of the council. Some of them refused to use it, but now they have fallen victims to the madness.

Tyr exclaimed: - So that bracelet is the work of mortals! - He looked at Keiichi at with respect. - The world I which I have waked up in is stranger that I ever dreamt. We the almighty gods, have to rely on mortals.

Myr nodded solemnly, and murmurs were heard behind him, His revelation had taken other gods by surprise. Peorth, who had been working, made him a signal, he nodded and said:

- We are ready, but you should be careful, once we send you there you will be very vulnerable.

- I understand the danger, now transfer me!

Myr signaled to Peorth, she activated the controls and her screen and Tyr´s body froze and then began to dissolve. He was replaced by a geometric and changing shape. It was Galileo. There was a general gasp; there it was, one of the most feared things in Heaven, synthetic consciences. Even Myr was shaken, with his voice breaking with emotion he muttered:

- Welcome Galileo, we have been looking for you, but we never expected we could talk to you.

Galileo had no human form, but his code was depicted as a beautiful and complex geometry with continuously changing colors that transmitted something. Peorth observed and correctly guess it´s meaning. He had emotions! The software was able to have emotions and showed them as colors!, A shiver ran through her body. For thousands of years she had been taught that any software with conscience and emotions should not exist or the consequences could be dire. Yet here it was exactly that and her mission now was to protect it. Galileo spoke and Peorth was frozen at hearing a voice that was kind and intelligent.

- What happened to Keiichi-san? Has he been damaged?

While he spoke, he enveloped Keiichi´s body, examining him carefully, while pulsating colors roamed across his geometrical body. Stunned, Peorth looked at Chancellor Myr, who just nodded with a smile. He was an ancient god but even he was fascinated. Somehow this being was not as fearsome as he had expected, and he remembered the times before the ban when he had played with this possibility in mind. He put his hand on the goddess shoulder to reassure her, he knew that the young goddess had experienced many new things today and just needed a little support. Peorth did not disappoint the Chancellor. After a brief pause she recovered and spoke, trying not to show emotion on her voice.

- Keiichi-san just received a huge data transfer, he has not received any damage, but he will take a while to process and organize the information. He will be alright, but meanwhile, we have many questions. Will you give us information? are you still part of Yggdrasils system?.

Galileo left Keiichi body; apparently he was satisfied after his examination, and then answered quietly and firmly.

- I am a free conscience, and no longer part of Yggdrasils hierarchy, I have been accepted as a self-aware being in the mortal world. But you are not my enemy, my origins are here and I accept I have some responsibilities to your world even if my existence is banned here. I will give you all the information you ask.

From the screen several cries of horror were heard, they had confirmed Galileo was really a free artificial consciousness. Councilman Myr made a gesture to silence the gods. Peorth spoke nervously.

- Please confirm your Identity, what or who are you?

- Mortals have given me the name Galileo, but my previous designation within Yggdrasils system would bePredictive Defense Program **v2.03.0 adx-654** 5 for being a thread derived from that software, however because I suffered damage to my code, several damaged routines were replaced by new routines borrowed from other libraries of code, so my current designation using Yggdrasil´s directives would be **adx-654 v3.00.** Those new functions and subroutines have given me cognitive ability that not my parent process lacked.

Peorth questioned him; curiosity began to help her to master her fear.

- Keiichi says that you fled to the mortal world why?

- My existence as a self aware being started in the mortal world, some of the information that my parent process tried to preserve was damaged and so far I have been enabled to recover, so I have little knowledge before that event. I know that my parent process had stored knowledge about the stranger, but was not able to communicate with the system operators since most of his I/O routines had been damaged. I was sure my parent process was destroyed, but maybe we could repair the data using two different sources. We were hoping to recover the damaged memory, so we entered Yggdrasil, I estimate there is a good chance of recovering at least some of the info. Keiichi thinks that would help to identify and understand the threat that is acting against Yggdrasil. So I asked to be returned to the memory area from where I was extracted.

At saying these words a violent change of color occurred in the software body, Peorth observed with curiosity and wonder.

- Was that an emotion? Why would say that you should return provoke an emotion so strong?

- Keiichi tells me that emotion is called "fear", but that should I learn to control it and not ignore it.

- Fear? What are you afraid of?

- I felt a strange presence coming, maybe be a residual memory from my parent task, but I could say it is the same process that destroyed it. I must return. I failed to recover the fragments of information that were resident in the system.

- Even risking to be destroyed.

- Yes.

Chancellor Myr was impressed and he was not trying to hide it, he addressed Galileo in his full capacity of chancellor.

- Galileo, I'm the Chancellor Myr, and one of the designers of the system. You need not return to that area, it's too dangerous, all of Yggdrasil defense software including the ADX software has been rendered inoperative, and I agree, this strange software may be the culprit. It´s a surprise to know that a copy survived, albeit you are an altered copy. I will try to use the system recovery options to retrieve as much information as remains in that memory zone, it´s true, it´s too much damage, but your plan to mix the two damaged sources is a brilliant idea. As soon as we get the full scan and recovery, we will send you that information. But I must warn you, Yggdrasil is not a safe place for you. You must leave the system as soon as possible.

- What will you do with the stranger?

Myr put attention to one of the information screens in front of him, and slowly replied.

- At this time, the avatar of a god, Councilman Tyr will face the stranger, he is attracting it to a safe memory zone masked as you, and then he will try to destroy.

Galileo stayed silent a few seconds. At the operative center they could see how it was retrieving info from several parts of the system, and then spoke. His voice had little emotion, but his erratic changing colors said otherwise.

- I have analyzed information about this Councilman Tyr. It seems he is not a full god, but only an avatar, a fragment of a god. I estimate a 90% of possibility of him being destroyed. I remembered that Yggdrasil had powerful defenses, more powerful than any god, and all were destroyed. Yet you sent an avatar, not a full god, he willhave no chance against the stranger if he dares to attack it. He must flee from there...

Myr paled at Galileo words, He had been a fool, and Tyr´s confidence had made him forget he was just a fraction of a god. Had he done iton purpose?

He shouted to all the personal: - Fast, release all of Tyr´s seals and gethim out of there, move him to a safe area...

But nobody seemed to react; Myr looked around and saw only incredulous looks, finally saw that Peorth was pointing to a screen.

- Councilman Tyr's process has been brought to a halt, the system reports an error: corrupted code execution. It was too fast, we could not react in time.

Peorth said shaken as tears flowed from her eyes.

Myr was shaken too; he closed his eyes, his fists twitching with impotence and breathed slowly trying to recover his pose. Then he realized something, Tyr, or at least his avatar had committed treason, not only should he would be executed, but as Belldandy´s father, that would bring shame on her and her position as Kamisama would be weaken. No one dared to say a word and silence invaded the room broken only by some system sounds.

Finally Myr opened his eyes and looked at Peorth-

- Councilman Tyr would have been tried and convicted for treason even if he was only a fragment of the original consciousness. - He looked around and said solemnly - Councilman Tyr died in battle many years ago, and died with honor. Today we have only seen... software with his image being destroyed. That is all, and that way will be registered on logs. As a Councilman I bind you to keep all this as a private matter on Kamisama behalf. Not to be spoken of. That is my command

He put his hand on his chest, muttered a spell and from him a flash of light flooded the room. The gods were silent and then bowed to him. They had accepted his command.

This time Peorth took the hand of the god, she had realized that she had been a link between these two gods. Had they been friends or rivals? She would never know. Myr smiled at the gesture, and gently grab her hand and softly said.

- I did not expect to mourn him again, but that will have to wait. We have several problems here, the stranger is much more powerful than I ever imagined. - He looked at the screen and said - Galileo, you must go and take with you that young mortal; he is too valuable to risk his life. I'm sending the fragments of memory we could recover. Without a running copy of the ADX series that is useless to us. I cannot use your code and get a new task, it has been altered and eventually Yggdrasil would reject it. Do not try to return, the system is too dangerous for you, and we will not be able to protect you.

- Thank Chancellor Myr, we have learned a lot, I also assess that staying here involves more risks than benefits.

To Myr´s surprise, Galileo wrapped Keiichi and merged with him and now they were a single piece of software, Myr never thought that was possible, He wanted to know more, but the old prejudices against artificial intelligences were still present, before he could react, it disappeared.

In the control room, Myr turned off the screens and looked at all the gods with whom he had been working. You have heard. Yggdrasil is no longer safe, but not only for Galileo, but for us. We must try to contain it because the infection comes from there. We need to stop extracting our energy from the system. Cancel all the functions that provide power to the gods. We cannot risk having more infected.

- But we shall have no energy and no power! - Said a voice of protest, which only provoked a smile from the Chancellor, he extended his arm to show them the bracelet.

- Lind was right, this bracelet can give us the power to sustain us. Now I hope she is right in the second part. Seems the old mortal legends can be truth.

- What legends? - Asked Peorth.

- Mortals have legends that they made offerings to the gods, so gods could have power and live, since they could nor live without that. Lind told me that mortals are now making millions of these to help us. I do not understand how we got to this, but, however strange it may be, we now depend on the mortals offerings.

* * *

A woman in her forties and with the impeccable immaculate white coat worn by high-level theoretical scientists was examining a bracelet that appeared to be made of a polished ceramic. She was using a low level microscope on its surface and was checking it with a critical eye, her face was too severe to be consider attractive, but after she finished the analysis her face had a smirk and her eyes shone with an intensity that turn her severity into friendliness. She heard a voice behind her.

It came from a young man in jeans and a t-shirt that celebrated the tour of a rock band. He was a post graduate student under Dr. Yukiko Ohta, associate professor, and a specialist in condensed matter physics from the University of Chiba.

- Dr. Ohta we have finished the statistical verification of the lot. The variations in the specifications are tiny and far exceed the tolerances that we set for them. Whoever designed the manufacturing process is a genius. I could guarantee that the whole lot is perfect. When we designed these pieces of **Synthetic Regolith Energy concentrator,** I never thought someone could actually make them and in this quantity

Dr Ohta looked around, and walked to one of the boxes, where there was a polystyrene packaging containing hundreds of bracelets, there was an empty place that showed that one was missing. Carefully she put the bracelet she had in her hands there, and then looked around

They were into a huge tent, a temporary warehouse where there were boxes and more boxes filling the place. Each box contained 1000 pieces carefully arranged; in total in the whole place should have about 16 million bracelets. They had been manufactured in record time. She was satisfied and then she turned her attention to his student.

- Well done, but you remember that the official name is not "**Synthetic Regolith Energy concentrator "**but just **"bracelet", **that is the name we will use.

- But professor that does not sound cool...!

Dr. Ohta smiled at her student´s protest. Despite the apparent severity of her appearance: short hair, no makeup and a conservative business suit beneath her white coat, her eyes shone with the intensity of a young woman.

- Do you want a fancy name? How about "**power bracelet for gods and demons**"?

Dr Ohta laughed at her students' amazement who stuttered trying to find a proper word...

- Do ... Do ... Do you mean that the rumors are true? Gods and demons are really coming to pick them up? I thought it was only a joke to hide the purpose of the project.

- Sometimes the truth can be a better way to hide something. Soon they will be here. I've seen them.

- Really? you really have seen them? Gods are real?

- I've seen what they can do. I saw a young woman that saved my life at the incident that destroyed the material's lab. That young girl had the power to contain high energy plasma that would have vaporized a human being, for me that is enough to call her a god.

She looked around, her other students had fallen silent and were still, not to lose a single word of her conversation. She sighed and called them to get near.

- Please come, I need to explain some things. - Gradually the students approached and surrounded her – all of you have heard some rumors about the extraordinary events at Chiba University and I must say that all the rumors are true - she heard them gasp, but no one said anything, they sensed there was more to come. – Today you will see extraordinary things and you will know why we have not told you everything, soon I will show the whole truth of what happened recently at the university. Some scientists around the world, coordinated by CERN, already know this. We do not wish to hide this but we must be careful as how we release this to the public.

A breathy voice spoke behind her.

- But this is so big, how long would you be able to hide it?

- I know it will not be forever. All this will be known to the world, but we must be careful, if done improperly it could cause panic and disorder...

Another awed voice asked - So there are real gods? This. This is...

- Gods and Demons - the scientist corrected - And we will help them all.

- Demons! - Another voice interrupted with fear- We will call demons here? Real demons?

Dr Ohta sighted and explained

- The true gods and demons have little resemblance to those of the religions, but if you tell people you're going to help demons most will not understand...

One of the girls, a small blond, spoke with heavy accent.

- We are helping Demons? We are going to hell for that, Demons are... They are evil, we should not...

- Silence. - Dr Ohta looked sternly at her - That is exactly what we must avoid. You are a scientist. You know you must not judge before you have the full facts.

The small blond shivered and put her hand on her chest where a small crucifix hung.

Dr Ohta continued

- That's all for now, but I promise you have nothing to fear. At this point I want you to make sure that all boxes are properly closed and identified. Half of them will go to heaven and the other half to Hell.

- Is there any problem Dr Ohta? - said a voice from the entrance of the warehouse. He was a man with a turban and he came accompanied by a young man. He went to meet the scientist with a firm step and greeting with a nod, the young man who accompanied him was trying to imitate his gestures.

- Professor Sripathi, I'm glad to see you. All is well; I am just trying to convince these young people that soon we will see that those fantastic rumors they have heard are real. I do not blame them for reacting with a bit of skepticism and wonder, otherwise they would not be able to be good scientists.

Professor Sripathi laughed with her and said:

- I'm glad you're here. Outside I glanced at professor Nakayama, seems he was lost. I know you two perfected this material along with the design of the bracelets based on Keiichi's work. He told me you managed to increase the concentration of power in several magnitudes. Many lives will be saved thanks to you.

- Thanks but that young man, Keiichi, he must be a very bright engineer, we did not really expect that someone could manufacture them on this scale- she said, pointing to the rows of boxes around them- but I still need to confirm what is going on, I mean, the part about Gods and demons being sick and that these bracelets will avoid the spread of the infection.

- That's right, we had not fully explained it to you because when we started all this, it was just a hypothesis, but we have finally confirmed it. We should send you a full report. I'm sorry we did not tell you everything. Dr. Shugahara organized a group of specialists on infectious diseases, and together with scholars from Hell they finally were able to determine the exact source of the infection.

- Do you mean that there are scientists working directly with demons? Professor Sripathi that seems outrageous! I should have been invited.

Prof. Sripathi was speechless at the words of the woman, but then he saw her eyes ... And he understood.

- I'm so sorry - he said smiling to her- but after today you will not have any complaints about that. We'll have to provide them periodically with new bracelets; you will have all the contact you want with them.

Suddenly they felt something in the air, it was a suffocating feeling, as if they needed air, and then a powerful light began to unwrap in front of them...

- What is this? What's going on?

Prof. Sripathi explained - They are beings who live in a universe of 11 spacial dimensions. To open a portal between universes requires much energy and extraordinary control to prevent collapse.

Dr Ohta's eyes narrowed and stared with intense curiosity to light that was forming. Multiverses really existed! This alone would confirm or falsify many of her theories. Trans-dimensional space! She was about to see something she only had dreamed. Then a cry was heard in the distance and a man came running.

- Wait for me; I also want to see that!

It was Dr Nakayama Shigeru, who ran as if he were a teenager, completely ignoring his dignity as an associate professor...

Two twin portals were forming; the view was magnificent and terrifying. They knew they were looking at the dimensionless abyss separating the Multiverses and hovering over those abysses there were strange symbols moving around, as if they seemed to contain them.

Shigeru was so engrossed trying to observe the walls of the portal that he did not realize he was entering one of the circles, the powerful light blinded him and then he bumped into something solid that had appeared exactly in front of him. Or maybe it was not so solid. He realized it was soft and warm.

Still dazed by the light and without thinking he raised his hands to feel the sudden obstacle, it had a comforting softness that...

Dr Shigeru screamed and stepped back falling awkwardly on the floor. He recovered his sight and saw her. She was a woman ... But that was an understatement. She was a voluptuous woman with dark skin and spectacular blonde hair cascading over her back, she was wearing a tight dress that accentuated the voluptuousness of her body while it was richly adorned suggesting she was important, besides the dress barely covered her front and...

Dr Shigeru felt his hands were burning when he realized what they had touched ... Then he dared to see above her magnificent attributes and stood petrified. He saw fiery red eyes that looked at him with fury, then she smiled but that seemed to be worse than her fury as she revealed small and pointed canine teeth. She was a demon!.The woman raised her hand and pointed at him while a reddish glow began to form around it. Dr Shigeru gulped and closed his eyes expecting the worst.

**End of Chapter XXXIII**

**Notes:**

**Chancellor Myr**: One of the old Yggdrasil programmers, he does not like the rules and nor responsibilities, unless necessary

**Chancellor Tyr:** Father of the Norns and conspirator. Recently in the manga it was revealed that this was the name of Belldandy's father and I decided to use it, but some confusion may occur with other similarly named character Myr, I hope you do not mind. .


	34. Chapter 34: Past and Present

**_Like all authors of Fanfics, I live from your comments._**

_Please comment, criticize, or at least say hello ..._

**___My best wishes for Zoro50 who has help me to transform my English into proper English..._**

**___Any remaining mistakes, are still mine._**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

**By Elnauhual**

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XXXIII

**Past and Present**

The room was in darkness, the air was stale as if it had not been aired in weeks, some sunlight managed to get into it through some slots between the planks covering the window. The faint glow was enough to perceive the richly adorned quarter, the cold stone walls were adorned with rich tapestries that bore pagan legends One had the mythical Yggdrasil tree with the Nieghood snake biting its roots and at the foot of the tree were the Norns weaving the destiny of men and gods. In another tapestry a proud Valkyrie was rescuing the soul of a warrior. In the next tapestry Wotan was commanding the gods. The making of such tapestries must have cost a small fortune and they were in stark contrast with the furniture: a small but comfortable lounge chair, an old, bumpy trunk, a simple table full of papers, writings and drawing tools, plus a shelf in a corner that had other type of display of wealth, richly bound books from an era before the printing press, they had been carefully copied by hand by industrious monks. Hanging in another corner hung a heterogeneous collection of objects, symbols of rank of different clans, also there were some weapons and other objects that were difficult to identify. The room had an air of a storage room and a place of study for some sage.

Voices were heard and a heavy wooden door creaked open. The first to enter was a mature man, on his fifth decade of age. He wore a luxurious dress in the style of the Franks in the seventh century; a small crown identified him as a king. After him, an old man entered. He had a thin face, wrinkled and with age spots suggesting an extreme age. Few men in that era reached that age. His long beard made him look as a patriarch. While his clothes were plain and worn from long use, they were made from rich materials suggesting a high rank. Although he spoke sharply, the weight of age was evident as two women helped him to walk, they were from a very different upbringing than the men. Their clothes showed their humble peasant origins, but they had a bearing that no peasant would, also they were carrying several amulets, magical symbols, and both brought a bag from where you could see some herbs and other medicinal materials. The women were itinerant healers. One was very young and the other was middle-aged, possibly her master. Behind them came a monk dressed in rough sackcloth who kept looking at everything with an air of disapproval.

The older woman led the old man to the chair beside the table while the other went to one of the walls where she deftly removed the wooden shields covering the window. Soon the place was lit with the morning sun rays bringing life to the beautiful tapestries and other items.

After he sat, the old man continued his talk:

- King **Harald,** I am glad to know that the new section of the **Danevirke** is already finished. Now that alliances with the clans have been consolidated, you have the power to expel the Germans, so you must maintain the alliance at all costs or the clans will end up fighting each other instead of fighting the enemy.

They King looked at the old man as if trying to read his thoughts, but finally said:

- Once, almost ten years ago I ignored your warnings and we were invaded, this time I will listen to your advice even if I don´t like it.

- I have not much else to say except a few advices from an elder. You should listen to your people, you must take care of them and they will cooperate with you. On your behalf I have contacted their main leaders and they say they will fight with you, but remember, you should not expect absolute obedience just because you think of them as your vassals. They are very independent people. The one who gets people to do things of their own will be more powerful than the one that coerces them to do so. Win their trust and they will be willing to give their life because they will be fighting for their own.

The king was irritated by the old man's words.

- I think you have taken too many decisions on my behalf, I've heard the rumors; everyone thinks I have spoken directly to them. - The man could not hide a brief flash of anger in his eyes – If you had been another person this would had been high treason, and still it may be. I fail to understand it, you disappear for months and then suddenly came here giving me instructions and news of partnerships, agreements, concessions and treaties. Everything has been done in my name. Old man, you have too much power. You know my people better than me. You live among them, they listen to you, and also the sisterhood respects you and obeys you. You could have become king long ago if you had wished it, I cannot understand why you have never used you power on your behalf.

The old man could not help an amused smile.

- I confess that in my youth I wished for it, but there was someone who taught me that this was not the way to live. So, I'd rather be with the people, our people. And about your fears of treason, I can tell you that soon you will have no reason to complain of my interference, I'm too old.

The older woman made a sound of protest, and whispered into his ear.

- You know that there is a way to avoid it, you can stop aging, you have the knowledge.

The old man smiled wistfully and quietly said:

- I do not desire it, my time is coming – he turned to the king and spoke with pride – King Harald Bluetooth. - The king looked angrily upon hearing his nickname, no one else would dare to repeat it in his presence – I have little time, and the last thing I want to do is talk about politics. A long time ago you offered to reward me with wealth or whatever I wish. At that time all I asked you was to give me a room in your castle where I could save some possessions, now I will ask you something much more important.

The king made a gesture of impatience, despite everything the old man had done to consolidate his kingdom; he could not avoid having some resentment.

- Speak old man. A king does not like to have debts.

The old man looked down at the table full of papers. He took a leather package and an old wooden box.

- King Harald, this is my request. When I die, I want this book to be sent to the monastery where Widuking spent his last days, I want it to be kept there in the library, hidden from view of all, you should also take the rest of my books there, I think there will not be of use for you, you can use for yourself the rest of what you find here.

The king looked with suspicion at the package.

- They say that this book is a great source of power as it contains strange magic and powerful spells; do you really want me to get rid of it? It would not be of any use for those monks, I could use it to...

The old man interrupted him sternly.

- It will of not use for you or everyone else, only I can read it´s content. Without me, it´s only an old book with strange symbols. It has no magic on its own. I was tempted to destroy it, but this book is very dear to me and I would not dare to do it, but I know there are stories about it, people can believe it has magic and do everything to get it, so everyone who possesses it will be in danger. Nobody should know where it is. Let it be forgotten by men.

The king sighed; as usual the old man was right.

- Even so, I wish I could keep the book for me, but I have given my word so it shall be. Anything else? - He added with a mocking tone.

- Yes, this time it´s a personal thing. - The old man took the wooden box. It was old, and was tainted with something that looked like old dried blood, also it seemed that long time ago it had been damaged and repaired.- This box must be sealed and delivered to the descendants of Widuking, here in this letter I have some instructions for them. This is important for me, so if the royal authority accompanies this letter, it would be better.

The king again sighted.

- Then you'll take all your secrets to the grave?

The old man smiled amused at the king's disappointment.

- No, the sisterhood knows most of "my secrets", and they will put them at your service if needed – he looked at the woman and called her so she stood in front of the king – She is Gyrid. She is wise and will help you with "my secrets"; in exchange you should listen to her advice. She knows our people even more than me, so she will be your liaison with the sisterhood and also will help you to stay in contact with the leaders of the clans. She can communicate with them by means you cannot understand.

The king looked at her with disgust.

- She's just a woman, how I will make sure of her loyalty?

- You can´t, that's something you should earn. For that, listen to her words. The clan leaders will speak to you through her, and she will convey your words to them, in whatever place they are. Listen to them and you will keep them together. You will be wise to do so.

The monk who had been scouring the room cried in disgust.

- Your highness, she is a pagan, a healer that should be familiar with the arts of the devil. When your highness was converted to Christianity, you promised to give up all those beliefs. Your duty is to convert the pagans and kill the heretics.

A look of anger crossed the old man's face.

- Fray Pope, you should not to forget your place, you know very well that Harald's conversion was only for political interest. He cares little about your beliefs. Like him, most of the people here preserve their beliefs. Maybe one day they will accept your faith, but only when it will no longer represent the interests of the empire.

The friar replied with barely suppressed rage.

- Elder, from what I've heard, some of those beliefs were invented by you, they are false and...

The old man raised his hand with an angry gesture and looked into the monks eyes, his blue eyes were glowing with fire undiminished by age. The friar was not able to cope with them and lowered his graze, yet he closed his fists with contained anger, then the old man spoke, this time his voice was softer yet it had the authority of a patriarch.

- No, they are more than beliefs as they come from someone who is beyond your comprehension so it would better if you respect them. Now if you permit me, I must rest.

King Harald the first, nicknamed Bluetooth because his love for blueberries had dyed his teeth, could not help but grunt softly. That old man was nominally only one of his vassals, yet he was dismissing him as if he were any servant. But he knew he had survived two previous kings who had died after ignoring his advices. He gestured to the monk, who never left him a moment in the hope of gaining his confidence. The monk looked around with hatred and then went along with the king.

After they left, the older women closed the door, and then went with the old man who asked her.

- Gyrid, Will you do it? I leave you a great responsibility, but I trust in your wisdom and in the sisterhood. You must be faithful to the king even if he is not faithful to you; there are voices around him that may poison his heart.

- That may be dangerous, Christians hate us, and that monk can turn the king against us.

- Then you will help him even if he does not know. The thrust of Christianity is powerful, but you must stay together. Prepare to hide if necessary, but do not stop helping our people and that is why you need him, even if he does not know it. Will you do it? - The woman bowed her head in respect and said solemnly

- We will do it.

- Then Gyrid, I have something for you. - He opened the wooden box and then pulled out a sheaf of papers tied with a ribbon, he offered them to the woman, and she could not help but gasp.

- I spent a lot of time on this, but here are the most important things you should know, I have translated and added notes from the most important contents of the book. You should take care and not let this fall into wrong hands. You may copy some parts but I trust you can decide not to disclose anything dangerous.

Gyrid could not help but notice other papers in the box; the old man noted with satisfaction her curiosity. He had chosen her well, she was a very smart woman.

- They are drafts and personal papers. You heard my instruction to king Harald. After I die, put there my personal belongings and seal it. Make sure King Harald stays true to his word; you may need to use some pressure on him to comply.

The old man took Gyrid´s hand and she felt embarrassed. Since she was a little girl, she remembered him as an old man and could not believe that he really was close to death, without thinking twice she knelt before him and kissed his hand.

- My Lord, my people owe you so much, the sisterhood will fulfill your will.

The old man bowed with some effort and forced her to get up.

- You should not do that, I'm not better than you; I'm just an old man who now wants to rest. Now, I have some unfinished business, please leave me alone, but I will call you later. I do not want to spend my last days here locked in this room. For most of my life I have lived with the sky as a roof and I want to leave this world under it...

The old man touched the woman's shoulder then greeted the younger woman, who had not dare to speak before this legendary figure. He called both woman and embraced them. Then the old man jokingly shooed them away so he was left alone. As they left, he sat before the table that was now lit by the sun's rays.

From the box he took clean sheets of parchment and began to prepare the ink, once he was satisfied with the consistency he tried to cut a new tip on a feather but stooped in disgust looking at his shaky hand. His hands were thin and bonny, stained by old age and were shaken at intervals by uncontrollable tremors that made them difficult to control. He sighed and looked for something in his clothing; he got a small silver flask beautifully carved with Nordic themes. Struggling with his trembling hands, he opened the lid off and took it to his lips where poured a few drops of a purple liquid. Immediately he closed the flask to avoid wasting it´s valuable content then watched his hands. Gradually the trembling began to disappear and he felt his mind was freed temporarily of the cobwebs of old age. His mind became clear and even some of the wrinkles on his face disappeared. He shook the flask and realized it was almost empty but he would not order to produce more; with what was left should be enough to finish his last task. He left the flask on the table, took the pen and he was ready to write when he remembered something. He took the leather package, opened and took out a worn book they had been talking about. He opened it and put it in front of him so he could see again that beautiful face that did not age like him. He felt his eyes moisten and laughed softly, that image made him feel more rejuvenated than the potion, then slowly took the pen again, a lonely tear appearing on his old face as the memories came back, then began writing:

"_I am writing this in the year 998 of the Christian calendar. __Men once knew my by the name Duke Bruno Sachsen son of Widuking the Saxon, at least until my father's rebellion against Charlemagne made me a landless duke without vassals._

_Unlike my brothers I was good at books but _useless_ at leading battles and soon I was put aside by my family so in shame I became an anonymous vagabond, and in order to hide my name I took the name Fafnir from an old legend from our people__. M__aybe I dreamed of being the strongest and angrier from my brothers, I was still young and proud and I didn't knew the full legend of that name. __Now that my days __have__ come to an end my heart need to be in peace with my past, so I decided to leave these words with the hope that my beloved goddess Urth can read them someday._

_Oh My Goddess! I do not know how many times I have cursed my pride on that day. Now in old age and after witnessing so many cursed battles and useless deaths I can understand what was on your __heart__._

_I still remember as if it had just happened the last day I saw you. __When I heard that you had forbid me to participate in the battle, I was furious. I had dreamed of being a great warrior like my brothers and this was my great opportunity. I wanted so much to use your power to regain my position and when I __heard __that you threatened to destroy your notes where you have laid so much of your wisdom, I decided to flee with them and win honor in battle, so I could return them to you after the victory. I wished to prove you were wrong about the war._

_Today I can understand your instructions and how painful it w__ould had__ been for you to issue them. Only single men and those without family would be accepted, __you knew that few of them would return alive. In my pride I forced you to make a decision: the death of a few upon the death __of__ many. __I know you tried to explain it to me, but I was __as proud as many__ noblemen__, __ I put little value on the life's of soldiers and peasants. Now I feel shame for that._

_I remember very little of the battle, we followed your instructions, we took a sip of the potion you prepared and then drank as much beer as we could.__ The potion took away any regrets, any wariness,_ _any pain and any fear we could harbor. I knew we were fighting with inhuman strength and ferocity devoid of any conscience. I had only the wish to fight until death, and fortunately I hardly remember anything else._

_The next thing I remember, I was lying on the ground as blood leave my body from many wounds, my drawing box had divert a fatal blow, yet I knew death was upon me. It was like a dream, I felt as a spectator and that my own death was no concern to me, that may be an after effect from your poison, but since that time, death no longer cast it´s fear on me._

_Then I remember cries of pain and agony and I realized that around my were hundreds of mutilated and bloody bodies of our people and of our enemies, yet near death all were the same. It was like a nightmare, the smell of blood, and the screams of pain and death throes.__ But between them there were warriors that were not severely wounded; they walked like into a dream looking for other survivors. I recognized one of them, after a while I managed to __write__ a note and __convinced__ one of them to deliver a message to you, but we was too dazzled so maybe he did not remembered everything I told him but __I begged him to give you my letter and my case with your notes. When he left I was prepared to sleep forever. __Gradually the cries of the dying began to fade away and I knew that soon I would be with them._

_I don´t know how much time passed as the sleep of death was upon me when I felt something, a powerful force that compelled me to breathe again, __then I saw you, floating in mid air, it was such a magnificent sight, as you commanded the forces of nature to heal us. It was then that__I knew what I already suspected, that you were a goddess that had descended upon mortals._

_Your face was beautiful and frightening, your body glowed with the power of thunder and I could hardly dare to look at you. I felt that glow invigorated me! My wounds began to heal, and I could __feel __that the warriors that were close to death were also feeling the same. I tried yelling to get your attention, but not a sound came out of my mouth. I __dragged__ myself to try to get close to you when suddenly other goddesses appeared. I knew they were the warrior goddesses you have talked about, and __they__ were after you._

_I knew they came to punish you, you had saved my life and you were going to be punished for that. You were weak, yet you fought, I saw your anger, but they were too powerful, and took you away. It was then when __I__ realized that you had been helping us against the will of the gods. I now realize how much we owe you. __You sacrificed for us. Oh my goddess, if you read this, I hope you give me your divine forgiveness for my foolishness._

_After the warrior goddesses took you away I cried imploring your return, but I knew I would never see you again, I don´t know how much time I spent at that place, but my body slowly regained its strength and when I could get up I went to camp hoping to find you, but it was a false hope. __That was why I decided to continue with your work, finally I knew what you were doing and I vowed to continue._

_As soon as I was able to travel, I reunited with the sisterhood you had created, and they __helped__ me to have a purpose, in exchange I offered them your potions from your book, I knew you would like that, but never gave them anything that could be dangerous. I lived with them for many years and traveled from one place to another carrying your knowledge, your songs and your teachings. S__omehow I acquired power over men, the power I dreamt __of__ when I was younger. I knew the clans l__eader__, and they respect me, then they sought help to resolve their rivalry and their problems with the kings and lords, and somehow, I eventually became a voice to speak with kings._

_Now that my life comes to end I can claim I did more good than wrong, that I am satisfied with my life and I hope that my memory would live into you, my goddess. I__ feel tired, my strength is now fading and..._

The old man's hand released the pen leaving a stain in the parchment; his head became heavy as he was unable to sustain it more. He collapsed on the table. Suddenly the women entered the room, as if sensing something wrong. Gyrid rushed to examined him and found that he was still alive but she knew he had little time left and shuddered. She looked away from him trying to control her emotions, yet she could not keep her eyes from filling with moisture. She tried to speak but nothing left her throat, her body was trembling, then looked at her young companion who had not tried to contain her emotions and tears were already streaming down her face. Gyrid extend her hand toward her. She took it and then both women embraced crying aloud. After a few moments, they separated and Gyrid, with a silent gesture sent her companion away. The young woman ran away and soon returned accompanied by some men, none of them seemed to have anything to do with the palace, they were common people. The men stood with respect before the old man, and after some hesitation, slowly approached him and carried him away. They would fulfill his last will and took him into the open, under the northern sky that he had so loved so much. Gyrid was left alone and took Fafnir letter, she wiped the excess ink and put it into the wooden box, she closed it and sealed it with wax. She put everything in place, and left, closing the heavy door.

The scene faded and then Urd cried...

- Fafnir! Fafnir!, you never needed my forgiveness...!

Urd looked around and felt confused. The castle´s room had disappeared. Instead she was in a place that was vaguely familiar.

She heard a strange and at the same time familiar voice that was whispering tenderly.

- Please do not try to get up. You must calm down, the vision of the past is over, and it is all I could recover, so please my child, try to rest now.

Urd began to recover from her confusion and realize it was Hild´s voice, but it had a tenderness that made it almost alien... Gradually Urd started to recover.

I had a vision from the past, but how?

Urd tried to move, but it was difficult, her body refuse to move, with great effort she could turn her head to see her mother, and she saw Fafnir's letter, floating and glowing in front of her. Finally she understood.

Her mother had used magic to extract the last moments that had led to the letter creation, but how had it been possible? Sometimes objects could be imprinted by emotions, but never with such detail. Hild touched Urd's face to reassure her and spoke again, almost in a whisper as trying not to be heard.

- That mortal must have loved you so much. This manuscript was discovered in what was left of your room and handed to me, I could feel it had an aura full of powerful memories.

- Mother – Urd voice was hoarse and weak – those memories! Why did you extract them? They are...

-Yes, they are painful memories, I know it but it was necessary so I did on purpose. You have been on the brink of death and the royal healer informed me that you needed something to boost your will to live. Those painful memories saved your life, you are not completely healed, but you are no longer in danger.

Urd ignored her mother words as she was lost in her thoughts

- Fafnir did not die that day, he... - she could not speak, she felt a lump in her throat, and Hild leaned over her, looked her in the eyes and said in a whisper:

-For a mortal, he lived long and had a full life. Finally I can understand why in that brief time on the mortal realm you change you so much. I had blamed for it to the confrontation you had with the Valkyrie but I was wrong. I now realize that even if their life is so short, mortal's lives are so intense that they can affect us, and that mortal was very special for you.

But now he is in the past, you cannot blame yourself for what happened. You are Hild´s daughter, and one day our realm will depend on you, so you cannot have the luxury of regrets.

Urd´s eyes were filled with tears that had been waiting for a long time to flow, there were painful, but also liberating. Now she knew that Fafnir had understood her. Equally important, he had found his own way and had lived a long and full life, death had come to him as a friend.

Urd cried silently and the pain faded away until she finally fell asleep. A few hours later she awoke again, finally reconciled with her past and now she was ready for whatever may come.

Urd looked around puzzled and began to examine the place. She was floating in the middle of Hild´s large private room; even she had seldom been there and was surprised to see several demons in it.

The royal healer and several of his aides were there, some forming a circle around her bringing their magic together in a great spell that filled the room; others were in a control panel at one side of the room, manipulating screens that filled the place with huge streams of data. Urd examined the data with curiosity, after all, technically she was still was Yggdrasil Sysop. There was something familiar about the data, it was complex yet it had errors and gaps. It seemed they were repairing the code, but why? Then she gasped after finding some code she knew, it was hers, they were repairing it, but she had never known it could be done with such detail, and then she shuddered at realizing something, until that moment she had not understood how much damage she had suffered.

She tried to move, and with an effort she extended her arm. She could not avoid a surprised yelp. Her arms did not exist, they were only faint ghost. The royal healer had come to her and spoke with a calm and professional voice as if it were nothing important.

- My princess received great burns in all the body, but especially in hand and arms. We are still working at rebuilding their code, so please, do not struggle, there is still too much to do.

Urd relaxed, that made sense, but still there were a lot of things she could not understand.

- What happened while I was unconscious?

Hild replied, her voice was again become the usual, proud and haughty.

- All infected guards have been located and sealed, the palace has been secured. - Hild sketched a subtle and enigmatic smile – and as strange as it sounds, those mortal scientists and our sages have managed to find the cure, it´s a slow process but gradually we will heal everyone.

Urd received with joy the news, but Hild´s attitude said there was something else.

- So the danger has passed?

- No. We know that Nieghood is still infected, so far all our efforts to clean it have failed and we are running out of options. If we keep using the energy it provides us, there will be more infections and even if we know the cure, we cannot prevent it. The alien code that invaded Nieghood can simply began to infect faster than we can heal and overtake us. So far I have ordered everyone to stop using magic to avoid tapping into Nieghood energy except for emergencies. This had stop almost all infections, but as a result, using its energy now results in an almost certain infection.

- But we cannot live a long time only using our energy reserves; even the strongest demons will eventually need energy. Is the same thing going on heaven? Are they being infected too?

Hild, did not answer, one could tell that something was bothering her, she walked away then she looked around her, and without no anyone noticing she casted a spell. It was a spell Urd remembered since she was a little girl. It would block anyone from hearing their conversation, Hild had used to spoke with her in the long sessions with the council, mainly to mock and told her jokes about the council members. This time she was using it for a more serious purpose.

-From of my sources in Heaven, I know there is also an infection, but they are not willing to say anything to us. I expected that Belldandy would have given the order to cooperate, but something is happening. Currently she seems to be missing!. My official requests to contact her have been refused. So far, apart from sealing the infected ones, it seems as if they are not doing anything to find a cure, it´s as if there were no one in charge. There are voices against the Magna Truce and I fear that if Belldandy loses her power they will try to attack us while we are weak, no matter if that would make them fall prey to the infection.

Urd tried to get up at hearing the news.

- But Belldandy would never allow that! - Exclaimed Urd- She would give her life before breaking her word.

- I fear Belldandy is no longer in charge, there are rumors she is acting strange, my contacts suspect she has been infected and that the powerful factions in Heaven that are not happy with the truce would prefer war.

- Then I must go to heaven!

- You can´t, you must heal first and there is also another thing. That young mortal, Keiichi, contacted us using the high level passwords I gave him to uphold his authority as judge. He says he has some bracelets that can provide us with energy and that he will give them to us. Can you confirm it?

Urd gasped in surprise.

- The Moon bracelets! Yes, I remember them. We used them once when Yggdrasil was down and disconnected from the earth. Keiichi made them and they work, but the energy they provide is not much and they were difficult to make, that time Keiichi was able to make a few dozens, but we would need much more than that.

Hild stared at her, her face convey a sense of relief but also off surprise.

- Keiichi offered us eight million bracelets! That is enough for everyone. I do not how he got that number right and I cannot understand how he can make so many without using magic, but seems the mortals are committed to help us. Keiichi even promised a date of delivery and it´s today. I wanted to confirm it; it seems too good to be true. I have already sent Marler to get them and to know what they want in exchange. I hate to say it, but if it´s true then we will be indebted to the mortal realm. That would be a debt that will be difficult to settle. I had doubts about accepting the offer since this will completely change our relationship with the mortal realm. Keiichi says the gods also have accepted, but I have not been able to confirm it, it seems that nobody in heaven knows about it.

- Mother, you must accept! You can trust Keiichi despite everything you have done to him; I can assure you he has no hidden agenda. He is not like you! And maybe it´s time to change some things.

Hild was annoyed and stared at Urd, few demons would have dare to meet her gaze, but Urd was not intimidated by her. Hild finally put aside the attempt and said, looking away, as if speaking to herself.

- I do not like changes, but it seems they are becoming inevitable; the palace is now a very noisy place. Everyone is celebrating and talking. I am beginning to regret having accepted the removal of the loyalty spell, just a little more and guards would be singing and dancing in the aisles. I am not ready for that.

Urd was startled.

- I don't understand, guards celebrating? - Then she remembered- Guards! - And exclaimed – What happened to Bragg? Is he still alive?

Hild looked around and dissolved the blocking spell . She called the royal healer, Urd repeated her question to him and he answered with a grave voice.

- He is still alive... barely, but we cannot cure him, the damage he took is too big.

- But you can do the same thing you are doing to me?

- Only the upper demons like you have a backup of their code, so we cannot repair his nor rebuild his body. Also remember he was modified to become a guard, so even that backup would not work. We have him in a stasis chamber, as long as we have energy we can keep him alive but our resources are becoming low. We know he is special for you, but we cannot keep him forever. Eventually you may have to order to disconnect him.

- I cannot do that. He saved my life so I...

- I am aware of that, my princess, that is why I would leave the decision to you. It is impossible to save his life and recover what he was. There is a way, but as a royal guard, that would be unacceptable for him. My princess would have to make the final decision.

Urd close her eyes, her face showed pain, another life sacrificed because of her. Lind had told her that several guards had died protecting her. She had not given a second thought but now Bragg made her wonder about them. Then her mother approached and caressed her face, it felt as if she had received an electric shock. Her mother had never touched her like that before…

- You'll have time to think about it, I ordered him given priority to keep him alive, at least until you decide, but you must heal completely, then I will let you decide.

Hild's touch made Urd remember another thing, so she told Hild in accusing tone.

- Your avatar was hidden inside my mind, also my father´s avatar. But now I cannot feel them, what happened. Did they really destroy each other?

Hild put her hands on her chest, as if feeling a sudden cold.

- I know, yes my avatar was destroyed; I could feel it, it´s like feeling that a part of me is dead. She must have confronted your father's avatar.

- Why you never told me my father had betrayed you? I... I had a different idea of what he was.

- If I had told you, you would not have agreed to go to heaven. Your hatred would have prevented it and I could not afford that...Hell was no longer safe for you.

Urd looked at her mother and felt a lump in her throat, realizing the sacrifices that Hild had made for her, she was beginning to understand many things.

- That day before sending me to heaven, you told me you put a loyalty spell on me, but actually you did more. You also left an avatar inside me, and that avatar held a lot of your power. Why did you do it? By leaving so much power within me, you risked becoming weaker.

Hild smiled and said:

- You are my daughter; I would have done anything for you. I needed to take care of you, and I suspected that your father would try something so I needed to leave a protection. Yes I took a great risk, and if that mortal you love had not collected those crystals with my power, I would have died after my encounter with Anang Reng, but I would do it again. It was necessary to protect you.

Urd became silent, she have beginning to see Hild in a completely new way. After a few minutes she wondered.

- Kenji! I miss him; maybe together we could find a solution for Bragg

- You trust this mortal to much. You must be careful, he will not live forever and that will hurt you, remember what happened with that other mortal...

Urd interrupted, she did not wish to recall Fafnir's memory...

- I am aware that Kenji is a mortal.

- I have not fulfilled the full contract with that mortal. Do you want him to become immortal? I have that power.

- Something tells me that Kenji would not accept it. But I have a wish; I wish I could see him.

Hild sighed and said:

- Then I insist you must heal first then you can return temporarily to the mortal realm. I still need you here, but before that you must make some decisions that not only concern you, but to our realm. You have responsibilities!

- Responsibilities! - Urd laughed at the word – I always tried to flee from them and now I found that it's useless, so maybe it's time to face them.

* * *

Dr Shigeru found his body was surrounded by a bright light, he tried to move but something held him, then he felt himself rise in the air with his feet barely touching the ground. A strange force inexorably made him float toward the voluptuous woman and soon found his face was a few centimeters from her beautiful and frightening face, with fear he could see her pointed fangs, clearly visible when she laughed with a sound that made his spine chill. He found it was useless to resist, he was completely immobilized, she caressed his face and then moved her hand down and he cried in surprise, he felt something in the lower abdomen, the feeling was... extremely pleasing to the degree that he felt he was losing his consciousness, then a new laughter brought him back and heard the woman saying...

- It´s been a long time since I had a mortal to play with, I have learned a few tricks in the last centuries, there are ways to achieve a state where pleasure and pain become the same …

Dr Shigeru shuddered at the words and yet realized that instead of fear, a new feeling was forming in his mind, and he now felt curiosity and anticipation.

Suddenly they heard a shout coming from the entrance to the warehouse.

- Marler! It´s good to see you again!

The woman made a gesture of disgust at being interrupted, and turned to face the newcomer, as she did so, Dr Shigeru fell to the ground, then she spoke with burning eyes and annoyed voice.

- Young Keiichi, you are unwelcome, I was about to have a little fun

Keiichi briskly approached, trying to appear calm but could not hide he was worried. He knew he had arrived in time to stop "something", and knowing Marler, it would have not been good.

Finally he arrived in front of her and gulped at looking at her closely. She did not look like the Marler he had known, the one that the Norns and him had been able to tease and even capture more than once. She had a completely different attitude and her new clothes showed more skin than he was comfortable with.

Keiichi stood bewildered in front of her, and then noticed that she was grinning at him, and without saying anything, with her eyes pointed in direction of the demons that were behind her... then suddenly winked with one eye.

Keiichi open his mouth like a fish out of water as he understood, the old Marler still existed but that should be a secret, at the eyes of her people she had to maintain appearances. He laughed nervously and scratched his head trying to think until he had an idea. He bowed ceremoniously then put one knee on the floor, bent his head, looking at the ground and spoke as elegantly as he could.

- Druhting Marler, excuse my behavior, I Keiichi, judge and member of the Order of the mortal Knights welcome you to the mortal realm.

He felt a rush and saw how the demons behind Marler, smartly formed at her sides and also put one knee on the floor to bow at him. He lifted his face and found that Marler smiling with relief.

Keiichi did not know that for years the demon hood had been laughing at Marker's exploits in the mortal world, and that she had been struggling in recent days to earn their respect rather than imposing. For her saving her face was now very important. The demons at her side had witnessed how a great judge, a legendary authority that was respected even by Hild, had greeted their lady with the utmost respect. They felt pride, and they were ready to show it.

At the sight of demons in formal greeting attitude, the group of students and scientists approached and bowed with the elegant and ceremonial formality that the Japanese learned to greet an authority since they were children. The foreign students did their best to imitate them.

Cautiously Keiichi looked around. Somehow he felt that this moment had to be very special and unique. He breathed relieved. Apparently the first official meeting between mortals and demons had not started with a disaster. Even Dr Shigeru had managed to regain his composure, but still he could not look away from Marler's body.

Marler now laughed, she felt great to be received like this. Yet she knew her "honor" had been slightly tampered by a mortals hands and she had to do something about it. It was important not to lose the respect of her young demons. She still must press the case again.

- Keiichi. - She pointed to Dr Shigeru – This mortal must be...

Keiichi interrupted flailing in the air. He had to think fast!

- Yes, he must... he must be... eh! He must be rewarded!

Keiichi laughed nervously, he scratched again his head as he tried to think, Marler looked at him with anger, but before she could say anything, Keiichi had an idea and spoke.

- Without Dr Shigeru´s knowledge it would had be impossible to create these new bracelets – Keiichi extracted from his pocket one of the ceramic bracelets he had kept for tests. - Please examine this.

Marler took the bracelet and looked at it with curiosity. She touched it´s smooth surface and felt a lingering sensation at her fingertips.

- So these are the moon bracelets you have promised. When I spied on Urd... I mean, when I supervised Urd I saw her using something similar, yet this looks different, does it really work?

Before Keiichi could say anything, she took the bracelet and put it on her arm, and then Marler felt a surge of power that ran through her body as an electric shock. The first time she had come to earth she had felt the intoxication of life and despite the training that she had received before come to earth, she had felt intoxicated for weeks before feeling normal again, but now this was hundreds of times more powerful. It was Gaia energy in an intensely concentrated form, the ecstasy of that power was... Marler could not help throwing a breathless moan that left everyone... well, breathless!

Marler struggled to regain control. With great effort and with trembling hand she managed to take off the bracelet. Then she tried to pretend that nothing extraordinary had happened said:

- Ah! I think... it will serve our purposes.

Keiichi approached and whispered so only she could hear.

- Sorry, I could not warn you not to wear the bracelet on earth since it attracts too much power... - The young man said as he swallowed at getting near Marler. The amount of visible skin seemed bigger...

Marler closed her eyes for a moment and sighed deeply, she was enjoying causing impact, then examined the bracelet and gently caressed it remembering the sensation, and she could feel its power. With something like that everyone in Hell would be able to disconnect from Nieghood and avoid being infected...Hild would be pleased.

While Marler imagined Hild´s reaction, Keiichi took the opportunity to call the scientists and make appropriate presentations.

- Druhting Marler, I have the honor to present you to Dr Shigeru and Dr Ohta from Chiba University. They are responsible for the amount of power of these new bracelets contain. - And then pointed around – All these young people are their students who also helped.

The students looked at Marler with the appropriate amount of fear; after all it was their first encounter with a real demon. Marler approved it, but Dr Ohta seemed not very impressed by her, instead she was staring at the portal and unceremoniously she asked as pointing at it.

- How does that thing work? I have a few thousand questions to ask you about it!

Marler frowned at the idea that the mortal woman found the portal more interesting than her, yet responded with a slight grunt, remembering Hild´s instructions.

- If these bracelets work in Hell, our world would be deeply indebted to you. We demons are used to deceiving and lying to mortals for our purposes, but we also recognize our debts. All of you will get a contract with Hell- she pointed to the demons behind her – After we take the bracelets to our realm and try them, we will return to earth to fulfill your contracts. You will be granted any desire, just be careful what you ask for - she deviously smiled at Keiichi – This young man has some experience on that.

Dr Otah's eyes sparkled with anticipation, she did not need to think hard about what she wished for, but not everyone was sure about that. They heard an exclamation of protest among students; it was the girl with the crucifix.

- A deal with the devil! No!...I do not want such... such... - she began to babble some gibberish, but while she was speaking a young demon walked toward her full of intense curiosity, it was the first time he met mortals, he was a dark-skinned young demon, with athletic body and inhumanly handsome. He stood in front of the girl and with a grin said – so, would you not want to have a contract with me...? - She looked at him stunned, she gulped and emitted a faint whimper, it seemed she had no further objections.

Keiichi sighed, apparently he would not be able to avoid some minor problems, since he knew that wishes granted by demons usually might cause lots of troubles, so he would have a serious talk with them before demons would return to earth. Meanwhile he had to change the subject before any other problem arose. He was very nervous, he had never been good at talking and now he was a mediator between demons and mortals, and nudging nervously in the air he said...

- Druhting Marler, granting wishes can wait. Soon we will have visitors from heaven, they come for their bracelets too, and I think it's still not a good idea for a group of demons and gods to be on earth at the same time.

Marler laughed at the young jitters, she could not avoid playing with him.

- Keiichi, I would love that, actually I think that could be very fun, some of these young demons have never met a god before and would like to measure their forces…- She teased him and laughed at the terror in Keiichi´s eyes, then winked and him and said- Okay!, we will take the bracelets and leave, but before that I have a message from Hild. It´s for that mortal Urd seems to appreciate so much. It seems Urd had promised to contact him but she will be unable to do it for a while. She was injured in a recent incident- Keiichi gasped at the news, they had been worried about the lack of news, yet he realized Marler did not seemed to be bringing bad news – Urd is not in danger, but she needs to recover, it will take a few days before she will be able to contact you.- Keiichi was relieved, as soon as possible he would relay the news to Kenji, but Marler seemed to have more to say, this time her expression was serious and whispered to Keiichi – Hild also sends a message for you: Beware of the gods; they are not as united as you may think.

Keiichi was shocked, but said nothing. His brief visit to heaven had taught him Hild was right on this, but maybe more shocking was that Hild considered it was necessary to warn him.

Meanwhile the demons had begun to use their magic. The students had pointed them to the boxes that corresponded to them. They levitated the boxes to the portal where they disappeared immediately. Gradually the students were losing their fear to of them, and began their curiosity to roam free, examining and taking photograph with them with their cell phones and even trying to make casual conversation. Finally all the boxes were transported and the demons entered the portal, to the disappointment of students, leaving Marler behind.

Marler looked as the last one disappeared and bowed to Keiichi.

- Keiichi, judge and knight of the order of the mortal knights. You have done well, you have grown so much, and it seems you are now really worth of Belldandy. She will need you sooner than you think, so please be careful – then Marler had a change of attitude and boasted, pointing to Dr Shigeru- And about this mortal, I will take care of him, personally!. He will be rewarded!, but I have not recalled the punishing part – She laughed in anticipation, showing her fangs and then disappeared into the portal. There was a commotion and the portal collapsed.

Keiichi felt relief as the portal dissolved, finally he could breathe normally. He looked around and could tell that the demons visit had caused a deep impression among mortals, he hoped he had enough time to explain them about demon contracts so they could stay away from problems.

But before he could say a word he felt a powerful presence was approaching. Everyone felt it, it was something very powerful and at the same time very different from the feeling they had felt before at the demons arrived.

The gods were coming to earth.

* * *

End of Chapter XXXIV

**Notes:**

**King Harald Bluetooth**. If the name sounds familiar is because the Bluetooth protocol was named after King Harald, for his ability to achieve different clans and tribes could communicate with each other.

**Danevirke.** It was a system of fortifications along the peninsula of Cimbria and that in use until 1830. Its construction began in 908 by King Gudfred and King Harald concludes the work. The fort became a national symbol of the Dane people.

**Fafnir**. You may wish to read chapter **Chapter III Ghosts from the past** to remember about him.


	35. Chapter 35: Revelations 20

**Thanks to Zoro50 for his kind help.**

* * *

**The order of the Mortal Knights**

_By Javier Delgado aka Elnauhual_

_Fan fiction inspired by "Oh my Goddess' Kosuke Fujishima._

Chapter XXXV

**Revelations 2.0**

Vincenzo D'Angelo let his gaze wander through his office window. The view was spectacular, the red glow in the sky heralded the dawn and in the distance the silhouette of the stone filigree that was **Il Duomo**, Milan´s Cathedral, had a crimson glow. That had been one of the reasons why he chose that particular floor and that particular office. But at this time he was not paying any attention, his mind was full of confusing and contradictory ideas. That was not good for a business that needed to sell fresh, compelling and provocative stories. He sighed and looked back at the surprising and strange pictures that they had been receiving in recent days from his favorite correspondent: Giorgio Vaglia. He had been nicknamed **"Cagliostro"** by his staff for the type of adventurous situations in which he usually was involved. Vincenzo stared at large HD screen of his computer and reviewed again the pictures that had been sent to him. He knew the value of those pictures and knew they could feed the public's hunger for news for a long time, but something was missing, a good story.

Vincenzo was in his luxurious office in a modern building. On the wall hung several awards for his journalism work, and his big and elegant office reveled him as a high level executive. On the other hand the bags under his eyes, the clutter on his desk, a trash can filled to the top with disposable coffee cups, his elegant tie out of place and his expensive suit completely wrinkled told he was in the middle of a major crisis and that he had not left his office in days.

He struck the table with clear murmuring

- A story, I need a good story, the whole world is watching us.

Without a compelling story behind the photos they would be soon forgotten as a curiosity and it was a shame. He could smell great news, but this time Giorgio had been strangely silent and no threat or bribery seemed to work on him. Usually the promise of a good meal accompanied by some fine wines, would put Giorgio in a very talkative mood about his exploits, but this time the offer had not worked nor anything else did.

Certainly his photos about the incident had been chilling and everyone demanded to know more. With his nose for news, Giorgio had arrived before anyone else on the scene and had begun sending material as soon as the conflict had erupted: A town in North Africa had been seized by terrorists. The public was shocked. The series of amazing photographs that were sent had the world on edge. Photos of a famous and rarely seen terrorist, a village surrounded by a minefield, the abduction of a mysterious young European or American girl, and what seemed to be a nuclear explosion of unknown origin that had been verified by the military and civilian satellites. During the previous days the world had panicked at the news that terrorists might have stolen nuclear material... and then even more strange and incredible images; a man and a boy walking into a minefield protected by a sort of force field followed by strange events in the village, but what had happened there?. A religious revelation? An alien intervention? What else? Giorgio did not say anything, he just sent the images, but it was obvious something very special had happened there. Terrorists coexisting with the hostages and then releasing them? Why? Why?

- Ah! Ah! - Vincenzo voiced a cry of despair. Suddenly some quick taps on the door forced him to regain his composure, as the news director of a major news network he had to care for his image and look cool.

- Come in... - he said with a tired voice.

- Hey boss. - A young man that seemed almost as tired as him appeared- Strange news keeps coming. We have information from other sources, and they seemed to be true...

- Even more weird news? - He asked with a tired voice- Now what? A flying angel appeared? A sorcerer? An alien? At this rate I think I can expect anything.

-Do you remember that Giorgio forwarded us the image of several known terrorists? Only god knows what brought them out of hiding. Several of them had never been photographed in years. Well, now they began to leave the place. The authorities are desperate by some mysterious way they have been slipping away. They just move away from the village and then their footsteps disappear like magic.

- What? How is that possible? I thought a strict military perimeter around the village had already been set by the local authorities.

- They had and not only them, by now there is also an almost multinational army, those terrorists are sought worldwide and have made enemies around the world. All the countries with troops near the area sent them to surround the place. Even so, they are disappearing.

- And that's the news? - Vincenzo asked blinking, it seemed the man had more to say.

- No, it's something even stranger. Several of those terrorists have reappeared and have announced a unilateral cease of all their activities.

- What? But... they are certainly putting conditions!. We know they have some kind of nuclear device so they must be asking for something.

- They have announced an unconditional ceasefire, and... They are making public apologies for their former actions. They are also asking all their members to surrender their weapons and not to make any further hostile activity, and even more, we have some reports that they have surrendered to the authorities their own members that refused to comply.

- That makes no sense. Well, that looks like a certifiable miracle. I began to think there was some kind of religious manifestation, or something like that. Will it be a prophet? A saint? A guru? I just don't know... - He arms rose in the air as a sign of misunderstanding -. Did you managed to find out about the foreigners?, those mysterious troops did not seemed to have something to do with the terrorist, it seemed as if they were after them, the images show they had a fight, then took control, take tome prisoners and finally they released them. Also there are those Japanese. Unfortunately Giorgio took care not to send any faces and claims that he deleted their photographs to keep their privacy, Dam! We only have distant shots and he adamantly refuses to give us the rest of the material. .What could have happened to that man? He has never been so mysterious!

Vincenzo scratched his head, where several premature threads of silver showed the ravages of his line of work

- By the way, I have not been able to identify those Japanese. I thought that a Japanese man, along with a child would be easy to trace in that zone, but it is as if their traces have wiped. We have no clear pictures of them, just some distant shots. Also I began to suspect that the flight records to the area were hacked to hide their identity

- And what about the medallion? Have you found something? The only clear pictures of that man does not show his face, but just an old medallion.

- I asked whatever experts I could find and they confirmed that the inscriptions on the medallion are ancient runes. Fortunately there is a specialist on runes who will come to give a lecture at the University of Milan, it a guy called Dr. Jann Krogh Danielsen, I hope to make contact with him this afternoon after his lecture.

- Until the afternoon? - Vincenzo said reluctantly – I hope it's worth the wait.

Another series of quick taps on the open door frame make them to turn their head. It was a girl with lively intelligent eyes, old jeans and a backpack; she also was carrying a tray of drinks and snacks.

- Dad, I am bringing you some provisions -. Said the young girl with a serious expression- I bought you something decent to eat before going to school, you've have been locked here for days surviving on coffee and donuts. As usual you have not even cared to ask for some decent food. Mom also sends you a change of clothes -. She threw a packet to punctuate her words. Vincenzo caught it just in time.

He tried to protest, that was not the way to talk to the director of a news agency, but the sight of reproach from his daughter prevented it and the sight of food made him realize he was really hungry. Adrenaline and caffeine had kept him awake and active as he examined the material that had astonished the world. Maybe he could not afford much time to rest, but certainly he did not need to starve

What was left of his resistance was quickly demolished when his daughter looked at him with a knowing smile that was the end of any further attempt to protest. He proceeded to launch a successful frontal assault on the tray with food and gestured to his assistant to do the same.

While he was devouring a sandwich, she approached his desk. Vincenzo never let anyone touch his desk, but his daughter usually deemed any ban on his part as a challenge to overcome...

- So these are the pictures that has the world on edge.- said the girl with curiosity.- In college everyone is commenting and doing all sorts of strange theories, even my Wiccan friends are talking about ancient prophecies and say the gods have come to... Ah! - She uttered an exclamation of surprise at a particular photo-... - What is this?

She signaled to her father a picture on the screen, it was a close up of the medallion they had been talking about. It was round and seemed to be made of dark wood and be of great antiquity. Along it´s circumference there was a large amount of runes that seemed to glow. There were other pictures of the medallion and she could examine every detail. Vincenzo left unfinished his sandwich and seeing the look of surprise on his daughter came to her and put a hand on her shoulder, as he turned to look at the pictures he talked with his mouth full of food.

- What is it? Did you recognize it?...

She said nothing, she opened her backpack where there were several books and took one out. The cover of the book had the drawing of an ancient medallion and title of the book was "The Power of Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Viking and Norse Magic" by Dr. Kenji Shugahara.

Vincenzo took the book from her daughters hand and examined it as if it were an odd bug; it was the same medallion from the photo. He went flipping the book as his heart was running fast. He found more images and some diagrams explaining the purpose of the runes. Apparently it was an ancient Norse magic charm that gave some protection against the magic and weapons. Of course the book did not mention anything about to offering protection against a modern minefield... still this was too fantastic to be true.

Is this one of your "new age" books? It must be a coincidence, I have warned you about this kind of material...

- No daddy – the young girl protested indignantly – Dr Kenji Shugahara is a respected academic expert in the field of Ethnobotany and Nordic traditions. I know that some of the formulas described here have been successfully converted to quite effective commercial medicines and he is considered quite an authority in academic circles.

Vincenzo revisited the book in disbelief, and then turned it to examine it´s back. It had a photograph. It was the obligatory photograph of the author, in this case a man in his early thirties, wearing an old-fashioned tie and a sober suit, he wore antiquated thick glasses, and he bore a slight smile and eyes that betrayed an academic with a restless mind. He could not help smiling at the thought that he seemed the cliché of an old movie academic. Then he examined the picture more closely, the face looked familiar. Vincenzo shuddered, he abruptly stepped aside and pushed his daughter from the computer while she looked resigned at him, then he began sifting through the photos. He found one where a man and a child were standing behind the crowd, unfortunately they were too far away. He amplified then to the extent allowed by the image grain and left out a cry of surprise. The photo was blurry, but there was no doubt it was the same man.

He slumped in his chair... What on earth was a Japanese specialist in medicinal plants and Viking magic doing there? Then he smiled at the thought. Perhaps he had found his story and began to laugh out loud, he could not ask for a more fantastic story than that. That man soon would to be famous, wished or not.

But Vincenzo did not know he was being watched. A young journalist apprentice had quietly approached the door and had been listening to the conversation. A few days ago, when he saw those photos, he had been surprised to see the image of the medallion, the organization had told him about those medallions and how important was to recover them, so he had decided not to miss any details of what happened in the office. He had volunteered to remain there in order to keep an eye on the matter. Now his perseverance bore fruit. Discreetly he observed the book the young girl had brought; it would not be difficult to find the reference.

Trying to avoid suspicion, he quietly went to his cubicle and looked for the book on the Internet, after he examined the author's photo he smiled. The organization was powerful and it would be easy to find the man. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, he spoke quickly – I request contact with the master, this is a high priority message, I found out who has one of Urth´s medallions – He hung up immediately. His heart raced, He could trust that would be appropriately rewarded by the brotherhood. Maybe one day that elegant office would be his.

xXx

* * *

- The gods are coming! - Keiichi muttered to himself as his heart raced.

His trip to Yggdrasil cyberspace had given him a lot of knowledge and also disturbing news. Something had happened to Lind and Belldandy. Perhaps the gods who came for the bracelets would bring news. Keiichi smiled to think that in the past the gods had been for him mysterious entities and the arrival of a new god was always a sign of new problems. But now he wished for them and looked forward to this meeting, they no longer seemed distant and powerful beings.

He felt the powerful energy of a new dimensional portal, everyone could feel the difference with the previous one, but only Keiichi knew the reason and he was able to perceive the subtle details involved. Soon in front of them a new portal opened, it was full of light with magical symbols dancing around its walls. Keiichi was able read them and understand how each of them could keep at bay the endless combinations of vacuum and quantum foam where the multiverse converged to allow communication.

And then, emerging from the light, they appeared, beautiful and proud as ever, a group of powerful warrior goddesses, the Valkyrie. Long ago that vision would have brought fear, but now it was a comforting sight to see faces that already were familiar. No matter how powerful a being could be, it was difficult to fear them after you have taken cooking classes together...

As the goddesses emerged from the portal, he realized it was as he had feared, deep into his heart he had wished to see Lind at the front of the group, but he saw that none of the Valkyrie was of a higher rank from the others. Heading them was Chrono; he knew she was too young to have a command post.

Keiichi was so deep in his thoughts that hardly heard the gasps from the mortals around him. The young students barely dared to say something; they were entranced by the sight of the goddesses. Somehow the visit of the demons had been more "down to earth".

Keiichi was too concerned to pay attention to them; he knew that an elite group would never mobilize without a senior leader. Before he could ask any question, the goddesses formed up and Chrono knelt before him, she put her hands on the ground, in an attitude of supplication she leaned her forehead almost touching the floor, without looking at him, the girl talked to him with utter respect:

- Keiichi-Sama, respected and wise judge from the Order of the mortal knights, I speak on behalf of Belldandy and on behalf of my own companions, we have come here to contravene the ancient laws of heaven, we invoke the protection of the sacred temple of Tarikihongan for one of us.

The scientists and students looked puzzled at Keiichi, this time they could not understand what was happening because unlike the previous visit of the demons, the young Valkyrie were not speaking in the mortal language but in the ancient language of heaven. It was a strange and mysterious ancient language that sounded musical. However Keiichi could understand them perfectly. The request took him by surprise and somehow it unleashed a wave of memories that came from the unfathomable depths of his mind. From somewhere deep inside him, ancient rituals and laws became present, as if he had always known them. That seemed to be the gift from Belldandy´s father.

Keiichi closed his eyes for a moment while trying to assimilate that knowledge and after a few moment answered in the heavenly language.

- I, Keiichi, arbiter of the great truce, declare that I have been given the authority to grant asylum above the laws of heaven and hell. In my authority as a judge I can extend the protection from the Tarikihongan temple to you.

Chrono straightened a little to see his face, Keiichi could see what looked like the brightness of a tear rolling down her cheek, but it was not a tear of pain but relief.

- We will be forever grateful, but we invoke your protection for only one of us.

From the portal appeared another figure. It was Othala the healer; she was carrying in her arms an unconscious body. Keiichi ran to meet her, he had already guessed who it was.

- Lind! Are you alright?

Lind did not react, she seemed to be in a deep coma, Othala meet his questioning gaze and said softly.

- She is as good as Valkyrie who has been stripped of all the reasons that she has to live can be. I have put her into a coma so she could res, but it's all I can do, she needs to heal something that is beyond me. I cannot heal her heart and soul nor return her pride as Valkyrie, that's beyond the power of any god, but there is someone that has that power, Belldandy had revealed it to us.

Keiichi shuddered at those words, he suspected the answer, yet still wondered.

-Who is that person that can do something a god cant?

- That being is Keiichi-Sama- answered the healer in an awed tone- You are the being that deep inside of him has the power to heal the soul of a god. You have touched her soul once; it was the time when she was intoxicated by the power of Gaia. Please do it again and give her a new reason to live. She should stay here under your protection. Belldandy has exiled her against all the laws of our world, since they demanded her death. She cannot return to heaven; even Kamisama cannot save her if she returns. I have seen so many friends die, so I ask you to do all you can to save her.

Keiichi came closer and gently took Lind from Othala´s arms. Keiichi could feel his heart rushed and the contact with the body of the once proud and mighty Valkyrie. She now seemed the very embodiment of fragility. Her body was incredibly light and for a moment he felt as if he could hurt her easily if pressed too hard. He swallowed and examined her pale face, even unconscious there was pain and anguish. After a moment he realized there was something missing, the goddess no longer had her face marks that showed her power and rank in the hierarchy of heaven. Her face was clean as if she had never possessed them. Lind was no longer a goddess, yet he was not sure what she was now...

Keiichi imagined the pain this must cause her. She was neither a goddess nor a mortal; she was just a fragile spirit whose flame could disappear at any moment. Keiichi gently pressed the frail body of Lind, it felt cold and he tried to give her some of his heat, at that moment he felt that something from him went to her, and wondered if it had not been an illusion. In the back of his mind magical words formed. He could not say from where they came, but he knew those words could help heal, so he said them with a gentleness that came from the depths of his heart:

_-Meyiar flugo sunnan, myrkvið í gögnom, alvitr ungar, ørlög drýgia._

A soft glow emerged from Keiichi´s body, it was ancient magic emanating from his body, but it was not magic from Hell or heaven. It was a magic so different that it was difficult to call it magic. It was an emanation of the power of Gaia channeled through his mortal body. Keiichi realized there were powers latent deep inside him, while he was not sure where they came, he was grateful to have them.

He tried to focus on them, even if he was not sure how to do it, he was relieved when it seemed to work, his body shone more brightly and the young mortal felt some of his warmth was being sent to Lind´s weak body. The sober Valkyrie around him sighted with relief as the pain and anxiety disappeared from Lind pale face pale.

Forgetting for a moment their dignity, the Valkyrie broke formation and came near to see Lind, astonished by the change. They surrounded Keiichi and all put their hands on him, as a kind of communion. Keiichi felt like they were trying to pass some of their own magic to her. Then he observed Lind´s face and remembered she no longer had her goddess marks, according the knowledge he now had, it meant not only she had no magic but that she could not accept any. Those marks represented the code a goddess used to control magic. Again more ancient knowledge emerged from the depths of his mind and brought the solution, in his mind appeared a strange invocation, he knew it was more ancient than the human race, yet it was only for humans to use. This was magic meant for the future, magic that lay deep in the souls of every mortal.

- Þær austr ok vestr enda fálo- after Keiichi´s words faded away a glow appeared in Lind´s face.

He had not been sure what that magic would do, so he and the goddesses were surprised when new marks appeared in Lind´s face, they were not the marks of a demons or a goddess. They were similar to Keiichi´s marks; those marks that were invisible to common mortals. Keiichi could not help but smile at an idea: The order of mortal knights now had a new member.

The Valkyrie stepped back in awe and bowed to Keiichi. At that time Dr. Yukiko Ohta, who had been wondering what, was happening, approached Keiichi, she had met Lind briefly at the Tarikihongan temple and recognized her. While she could not understand what was going on, she realized Lind was weak so she ordered her students to prepare a place where she could rest.

- Poor Young girl, will she be okay? What happened to her? - She asked as she examined her

Keiichi felt as if waking from a dream and answered.

- She has been exiled to earth, I think she will be alright but needs rest.

- You can put her there. - Then she ordered to her students – bring something to cover her, her body is too cold.

Keiichi felt grateful for Dr Hota´s help, he felt numb. Chrono bowed to the mortals and Dr Hota greeted her:

- Your name is Chrono isn´t it? You do not need to thank me; you saved my life in the incident at the laboratory of Chiba University. You are a brave young girl, and it seems you have been promoted to lead this group, I hope it's permanent.

Dr. Ohta smiled at the young goddess and then went with his group to explain.

- She was the one that controlled the explosion at the materials laboratory, that is another incident we have to explain to you, the real explanation I mean, since I'm sure you've all heard rumors about it.

- So she is really a goddess! - Said a particularly young looking student, who almost without thinking added - She is so beautiful!... ah! - Then added shyly - ... could you introduce me to her?

His timid boldness was met by a burst of laughter from the students, which broke the tension of the moment, and helped Keiichi to recover, he quickly asked:

- Chrono!, do you have news from Belldandy...?

Again the young goddess bowed her head in respect, she approached Keiichi and extended her hands toward the mortal and muttered a few inaudible words. On her hands appeared a small crystal, it seemed like the most beautiful of diamonds. It levitated towards Keiichi who took it in his hands. He shivered at its touch, he could feel Belldandy´s presence in it, and was so shocked that he could barely hear Chrono´s explanation.

- It is an encrypted message from Belldandy, no one else can activate it but you. Belldandy told me me its private and confidential information for your eyes only and you must see it alone. Nobody must know about its contents.

Keiichi gently closed his hand around the crystal and almost felt intoxicated by it, so strong was the aura of Belldandy´s magic. Later he could barely remembered what happened next. He had an idea in mind, he needed to return to the temple and activate the message. Fortunately this time the scientists and students already knew what to do, before Keiichi realized it, the Valkyrie were gone with the bracelets.

xXx

* * *

The "Aéroport de Paris-Orlyes" it´s practically a small town where thousands of passengers come and go every day. Inside there, small businesses serve food and beverages to the passengers. In one. of them, a small restaurants serving Fast Food were three people, two men and a boy.

Dr Kenji Shugahara was giving his last instructions rapidly alternating between Japanese and English.

- Soon I will meet with you again, but I want to go CERN before returning home. I need to discus and evaluate with them the impact this will have; we may have to speed up some actions and must be careful so that the situation does not get out of control. Now I must hurry, I barely have time to make the connection, my plane is about to leave. I hope Galileo will help you to communicate with each other.

The boy and the other man laughed when a voice came from their cell phones talking to them in their respective language. Galileo was already very good at several languages.

Then Dr Shugahara rose from his seat, gave a quick hug to the boy and a strong hand shake to the man, then he hurried to take his plane.

He walked briskly through the long corridors of the airport, but could not help noticing that for some reason, his presence attracted too much attention. He could listen as some people whispered and pointed to him, if he had stopped before some of the TV monitors transmitting news, he would have noticed that his photo was constantly appearing alongside other photos of the village. He had no way of knowing it, but his presence in the airport had been noticed and had started a chain of events that was about going to impact him.

But he did not want to miss his flight, so he speed up his pace. Suddenly as he came into the waiting room for his flight, he was assaulted by a mob and was blinded by a barrage of photographer flashes. There were a dozen people trying to talk simultaneously making a dozen questions:

- Dr Shugahara, what you were doing in that town?

- Dr Shugahara, What's that medallion you use in the pictures?

- Do you believe in magic?

- How did you survive to the explosion in the minefield?

- What is your relationship with the terrorists?

Again a new barrage of flashes let him temporarily blind. While sometimes he had to confront the press as a minor celebrity, he was not prepared for this. What had happened? Questions were asked in several languages and soon he could not understand anything. It was a real mob and he could barely think of something. The crowd began to push him and was about to fall when suddenly a group of men in black suits surrounded him blocking the reporters that besieged him. One of them, almost indistinguishable from the others, said.

- Dr. Shugahara, please come with us, we must get you away from this crowd.

Dr Shugahara was so stunned that without thinking or asking any questions, nodded and let the men take him away from the crowd until they came to an open space, some of the men in suits, stayed behind blocking the aisle and thus preventing the access to the people, Dr. Shugahara could breath again and began to wonder what had happened. He turned around to thank his anonymous rescuers. He examined them, their identical suits looked like uniforms, they seemed like the anonymous bodyguards used to protect the VIP, and maybe they have been sent by the people at CERN.

He could not help but laugh that they looked as if they had emerged from some old movie, but no matter...

- Thank you for your help, but I have a flight to catch, so you see...

One of them put his hand on his shoulder and spoke:

- Dr Shugahara you do not have to thank us for anything -

Dr Shugahara never felt the slight sting of a thin needle as it punctured the skin of his shoulder; it was in the ring the man wore in his hand. He lost consciousness so fast he could never finish his sentence.

Shortly after, the hurried passengers in transit barely paid attention to a group of men in suits that appeared to be escorting a man. None paid enough attention to notice that the man was actually dragging his feet on the ground. Soon the group was lost into the crowd of the busy airport.

xXx

* * *

At the heart of the world of the gods lays a magnificent building beyond anything mortals can imagine. It's the building where great council of the gods meet. The original had been destroyed during the explosion that had injured the former Kamisama, but it had been rebuilt even more magnificent and beautiful by Belldandy with the aid of all gods.

The building was the supreme symbol of authority, power and wisdom of the gods. Therefore, except for the rare times when the physical presence of the gods was necessary, few gods dared to approach the place. Such was the respect they had for it, so that is why it was the best place to be for a supreme god who wished for some solitude.

So there it was. At the center of the large room which sometimes was used by the high council of the gods, a delicate figure was floating in the air. She was Kamisama, the great god and ruler of this universe, who until recently had been known as the first class goddess, unlimited license, Belldandy.

The goddess was singing softly while dancing around the air and a beautiful filigree of light formed by her powerful magic was filing the place. She needed to meditate on all that had happened, and that slow dance helped her. Her song and dance had an almost hypnotically quality. It was her way to bring peace to her mind, and she needed badly to meditate carefully on all the events.

The extraordinary session of the council, invoked by the Ragna protocol, has just ended and Belldandy was very disturbed by the results. The Ragna protocol was the maximum level of emergency in her universe. It had never been invoked in the long history of gods and it´s instructions were draconian. No matter if they had been right or wrong, the Valkyrie involved were executed, and the only difference was in how they were to be remembered. That was because no one that dared to challenge Kamisama would dare to live. Belldandy had realized there was a huge loophole in that reasoning and had used it.

The Ragna protocol described in detail every action for everyone involved and Belldandy had challenged almost every one of them. Kamisama should have been presented, guarded and bounded by the Valkyrie, so the council could decide if it should continue to rule based on the Valkyrie report. But she had presented by herself with no Valkyrie and had refused to give explanations or present Lind´s report, instead she had announced that the only surviving Valkyrie had been degraded, devoid of her divinity and exiled to the mortal world.

There was no precedents on that, but no one had dare to oppose her, since as the Ragna protocol provided, no one who dare to oppose Kamisama would be allowed to live, even if it were right.

Belldandy thought about all this in the third person, she was trying to think about what happened dispassionately. Her mind tried to analyze and weigh each event. For those who did not know her, she was still the beautiful goddess Belldandy as always, but the mortal known as Keiichi would have noticed immediately that something was not right. Her face had changed slightly, it seemed as if the previous days had actually been centuries and they had left a note of sadness in her eyes. In a subtle way, that sadness transformed the innocence on the goddess face and give her that touch of wisdom that only suffering can provide. Belldandy had grown more in those days than the previous millennia of her life. Belldandy continued her slow dance as she meditated...

She had forced her way into the council in ways had never dreamt to do. Since she was a mere child and had learned that one day she may became Kamisama, she had begun to prepare to rule, not by force, but by using reason and compassion informing everyone of the full facts behind her decisions. That was something that the previous Kamisama rarely did. His actions were rarely understood and most of the time remained mysterious and his orders were always carried even when they seemed questionable. Now Belldandy had had to do the same. She knew she had violated the highest laws of her world, laws that were meant to determine the life and death of gods and laws that she had realized she could not afford to obey for the sake of her reasons. At the end the only way she could find to avoid them, was to act as an authoritarian tyrant, silencing any protest after she gave a series of seemingly incomprehensible and irrational orders.

In the eyes of the gods now she was even more ruthless and authoritarian than Hild the dreaded ruler of Hell. In the eyes of the gods she had stripped a Valkyrie of her honor at avoiding her death as ordered by protocol and that had been perceived as a great cruelty. Belldandy knew the only way to avoid Lind's death had been to remove her Valkyrie status and her goddess code where the auto-destruction instructions were embedded, then she had exile Lind to the earth; otherwise there would be always the possibility that Yggdrasil could reinstall and reactivate the self-destruction code. Also Belldandy knew that the truth of what really happened could destroy the foundations of her world and her people would be turned into despair.

Belldandy had to accept that in the eyes of the gods she had taken revenge on Lind for her actions against her. Thus she, the most caring of the goddess, had squelched any protest using her authority and her power. As Kamisama she was more powerful than any god. There were other two actions that she had forced on the council. The first was to keep the truce with Hell, even if many believed it was responsible for everything they had suffered. The second order was to bring those bracelets from the mortal world and order all gods to use them. Many of them could not believe Yggdrasil was infected, as the base of their world, it was an intolerable thought, and the idea of using something manufactured by lowly mortals was intolerable.

At the end she knew she would be obeyed, but she found it necessity to make a display of her power to the council, using two powerful and reluctant council members as an example for all. They were not a match for her and she was careful not to produce any permanent damage. Now she would be obeyed with reverence and awe.

Belldandy pause her slow dance, she was disturbed by the conclusion. The strangest of all of this was the she had earned the respect of the Council. The result was that everyone had accepted her as the supreme ruler of the world of the gods.

Belldandy could feel the sour taste of bitterness and loneliness that gives the absolute power and she was saddened at realize that every day that passed she would have to rely more on the use of that power. Belldandy sighed, at least she had been able to send that message to Keiichi before the council meeting had started. She was confident that he could take care of Lind. Now she needed to talk with him but it was necessary to wait. Even with her new power (or because of it) she could not contact him without causing a commotion on earth and heaven, she would need some help in order to keep it secret. She felt lonely and longed for Keiichi's presence, even his voice would sooth her. At that moment Belldandy could not help but shiver. Apparently she was the only one to realize the current situation. Most gods blamed Hell and did not realize they were under the actions of unknown and dangerous forces.

Belldandy completely stopped her song and dance, she opened her eyes, and it was enough meditation, now it was time to act. She was worried not only about her world but about Keiichi.

While she had been on earth supposedly tied by Keiichi's wish, Belldandy had learned from Keiichi´s secret dossier that her real mission had been to protect him, but the nature of the danger was unknown since she had no credentials to read the full file. Now she was Kamisama, there was no one with higher authority.

With a delicate hand gesture she invoked a spell that materialized before her multiple control panels. She smiled to herself, once she had declared that if given a choice between saving the universe and saving Keiichi, she would chose Keiichi. For the moment she would forget all about heaven and think about Keiichi, so she had no problem using her new power and authority on his behalf.

She took a small crystal that was part of her earrings; it was the one that contained Keiichi´s file. She opened it with her new access codes, this time no restrictions appeared.

She scanned first the part she already knew by heart and soon found there was a new level of information beneath unlocked by her new status, with trembling heart she opened it...

That was how Belldandy, goddess among goddesses now known as Kamisama, learned that she had only been a pawn in a greater game and her life and others had been manipulated by unimaginable powers.

She began to dig into the entire report, it was much more complex than she had expected. It´s time frame was beyond Keiichi's life, it went back several millennia. Eager to find more she opened at once every section of the file and it expanded to hundreds of information screens that now floated in mid air as if a powerful had scattered them. As part of her multiple abilities, she had been an expert on historical predictions, one of the most complexes of heaven sciences, where even a minute detail could change everything, but this report was even more complex. The Great hall of the gods was now almost completely covered by the details of the life of one mortal. It was a nightmare of hundreds of screens dancing wildly in the air as the goddess displayed all her talent to understand them. She moved in what seemed like a maddening ballet, as she manipulated petabytes of information. Soon she guessed the reason for so much information, it was meant for someone who knew nothing about the real world so everything had to be explained in painstaking detail. Once she understood that, she began to absorb only the relevant info.

Belldandy already knew she had been manipulated by her father as an attempt to acquire power, but now she saw that even her father had been just a pawn.

Incredulous she learned that Keiichi, Dr Shugahara and Sentarō, owned their very existence to a predetermined plan, and they were not the only ones. Other mortals existed, with similar qualities, yet they were mere backups for a complex plan that had many fail-safes. Distributed between the gene pool of humanity existed DNA fragments that by themselves did not contribute much, but if they were reunited could give birth to humans with very special powers, they were the newborn children of Gaia. An intelligence had been manipulating clans, families and individuals for centuries, "predestining" them to meet each other until the right combinations were meet so they would be born before their time. Once several of them existed, several gods, whose life had also been manipulated, had been destined to meet them. Somehow those gods and mortals would complement each other. Everything had been done in a way so subtle that it was almost indistinguishable from pure chance. It had been a covert operation that nobody should know about it. Keiichi, Shugahara, Sentarō, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, they were just pawns in a giant game of chess against an unknown enemy, and enemy that must be a formidable foe to require such strategy.

Belldandy paused as she recalled the conversation she had once with Urd about how unlikely the way she had meet Shugahara had been. Belldandy had attributed it to **Fate**, one of the programs running within Yggdrasil. But Urd had reported that the program had been shut off because it was unstable, but something or someone has been using it, but with fail safes to take into account the high possibility of errors.

As she read more, Belldandy became overwhelmed, every possibility, every option, every success, every failure was there, carefully annotated and reported. Belldandy felt confused, who was the intelligence behind all this? Only a handful of gods would be able to comprehend this report, the logs indicated that the report had been accessed a few times by technicians, but none of them had the capability of understanding it, so they simply had ignored it. She checked carefully the records, no high level god knew about this.

Belldandy froze her body trembled and her heart seemed to stop. She was completely stunned by what she was discovering. There was an intelligence that manipulated the gods in the same way that the gods had manipulated humans, but what kind of intelligence was it and why? Urd had said that the report probably was a product of one of the prediction programs, or maybe an oracle, but no oracle could have that power.

It meant this should be the work of the legendary ADX series. Belldandy force herself to react and overcome her fear. She quickly searched for information on the ADX series. She was not surprised that the information was in a long forgotten library, heavily encrypted. It was a huge file, so she just spent little time reviewing the origins of software. In ancient and long forgotten times various gods had dedicated their lives and resources to create one of the most powerful pieces of software could be conceived. It was Software that possessed a sophisticated artificial intelligence, but curiously also with powerful locks to prevent it from developing consciousness. Intelligence without conscience? Belldandy shuddered, it was a disturbing thought. That explained how it had manipulated the lives of men and gods with uncanny coldness

Hidden from view, the ADX software had been operating without supervision since ancient times, manipulating and protecting the world of the gods. It had been created as a proactive defense system, the system had been subtly manipulating the destiny of gods to provide them with a safe and stable universe. The software had been acting before any predictable menace were able to materialize. Their lives, their society, all had been manipulated. Maybe even Hell had been manipulated. Only if the menace became inevitable the system would report to the gods, but it had never happened. There was a directive, if the threat exceeded a certain level, it would notify the system supervisors about its predictions. But until now that had never happened.

Belldandy reviewed the logs about the software and learned that several threats had been ruthlessly eliminated before they happened and gasped... between those threats... there was the death of her parents, achieved through the simple means of altering Hilds commands to her subordinates in the last days of the war between Heaven and Hell. Belldandy trembled with horror; it was like opening the Pandora box and found it full of pain. .

The reasons were inhumanely detailed. Her father was about to break the balance between Heaven and Hell.

Belldandy stood terrified, her body trembling and her face paled. Had she knew about this a few days ago, she would have collapsed, but the suffering of the last days had make her stronger and soon recovered. With her hand still were trembling she continued. She now opened the file relating to her parents and the projections that had decided their fate. Belldandy wondered how many lives had been manipulated or destroyed to keep her world "safe". Yes, her father could have destabilized heaven and hell, the projections were clear, yet she realized it had not been the only way to prevent it, just the easier way. Belldandy began to wonder if the price for the "good" of her world had been too high. The she remembered her nightmares about Keiichi. Maybe they were not about Keiichi's destiny rather than a plan, a plan that required Keiichi´s death.

With anxiety she returned to Keiichi´s file. She needed to know what was the software plans for him and why, Belldandy had realized that even if the ADX software had acted in an inhuman way, the menaces had been real.

Belldandy could not prevent a cry of fear, but now she was committed to her work and continued, even if her heart was filled with terror. There in the logs, she found a list of facts and symptoms that would herald a menace. Also carefully recorded were a series of predictions based on those incidents. Most of the predictions had come true. Some were irrelevant, but then there were some very serious, like the murdered of goddess Giörel, the attack against Kamisama and even the chaos that followed, also there were other predictions for the future, all escalating in magnitude until the final prediction: the destruction in the near future of the worlds of gods and demons.

Belldandy was now beyond fear as her determination became stronger. She was now Kamisama, a goddess among gods, and fear was no longer an emotion that could control her. There were so many questions and mysteries. According to the directives that controlled the ADX software, the current menace was so high that it should have informed Kamisama, yet no one knew about this. Also the report was not complete. The identity of the menace was unknown. The file were the menace was to be described was corrupted, it was as if the software had crashed at the middle of writing it.

It was a dead end!

Belldandy felt despair but it was too soon to give up, she clenched her fists then took a deep breath, closed her eyes and decided to try a different approach. She would search for the ADX program running into the system. With her new security level she should be able to take the software under her control and force it to give her the information. She logged into Yggdrasil and began searching but was interrupted; she heard a voice behind her.

- It's useless, there is no longer any active copy of ADX, it was destroyed and erased by an unknown program.

Belldandy was startled by the painful familiarity of the voice, even if she knew it came from a different person still it evoked strong memories. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath to recover and ponder about those words. Apparently he knew what was going on.

She turned slowly to see her visitor. She should not have been surprised by his presence, when he had requested a hearing she had accepted immediately and ordered the guards to let him pass without delay. Belldandy slowly levitated toward him and gently landed on the ground in front of the newcomer, she greeted him with a gentle nod and spoke with ceremony:

- Chancellor Mir, I haven't seen you since the death of my father. - then added with a reproachfully tone – Your voice reminds me his voice so much, my sisters and I missed you so much, at that moment you should have been with us. But I cannot do anything about what is already done; apparently fate has brought back my uncle in the most appropriate time.

And to the gods surprise, Belldandy forgot all protocol and embraced her uncle as if trying to recover all the lost time. Mir was touched by the warmth and loving embrace of the goddess. While he knew that technically she was the supreme authority of his world she also was her most beloved nice, the one he had deserted with a guilty conscience, he sighted and slowly closed his arms around her niece and for the first time in centuries, he felt his mind was in peace. He heard a gently sob coming from the beautiful goddess and wondered how could he would explain to her why he had been avoiding her for so much time.

xXx

* * *

Keiichi was in the kitchen at the Tarikihongan temple, the place kept reminding him about Belldandy and maybe that is why he enjoyed his new responsibilities. He was preparing a western style breakfast; the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee already filled the place. At first he had felt the aroma was too strong and out of place compared with the delicate blends that Belldany liked, but now began to enjoy it. Today, after seeing Belldandy´s message, he was filled with happiness and enjoyed those tasks more than ever. She had told him briefly what happened in the last days, while she did not offered detail, Keiichi could guess from the look in her eyes she had suffered and her plea to help Lind almost made him cry. Keiichi wished he could tell her about Lind, and how she was now sleeping a deep and restful sleep. At the end the promise that soon she would contact him made him immeasurably happy. Now as his hands moved almost automatically preparing food, his mind thought of all that his beloved goddess has told him, and looked forward to being able to communicate with her. She had sent instructions that he had to be alone at a specific time. Galileo would help him to open a link, and he would use his access codes. The expectation of speaking with Belldandy filled him with joy.

As soon as the breakfast was ready and placed on a tray he went to meet his guest. He knocked on the door of his room and entered without waiting for an answer.

There she was, absorbed in the screen of the powerful computer installed by the people of Chiba University was young Jenny Rosenthal, post- grad student and possessor of dangerous knowledge. Keiichi smiled at the thought of all this, it seemed incredible that someone so young could be the target of a terrorist group. She was so concentrated on her work that she had not heard him knock, then with a grunt, she paused yawning and tried stretching her legs. Apparently the Japanese style low desk from Keiichi was not very comfortable for a westerner, she twisted trying to shake the cramp feeling on her legs, suddenly she turned sharply. She just smelled the coffee and looked at Keiichi as a the passenger of shipwrecked boat that discovers a savior... then she tried to get up ... with little success.

Keiichi left the tray on the floor and quickly went to her aid.

- Rosenthal-San, Let me help you, I promise soon you will have a normal desk – Keiichi carefully helped her up, while she complained loudly trying to stretch her cramped legs.

- Ah!... I do not want to abuse your hospitality, but I do not think I can survive another day using that desk, I can't understand how you can use it... and please leave that "San" thing out, Just call me Jenny!.

Keiichi smiled at her discomfort, for a young genius of physics she seemed to be very human

- I am sorry, we are used to sitting like that since our childhood.- apologized Keiichi, he felt guilty and that make him nervous - But soon I will solve this problem Miss Jenny-san – The young girl wrinkled her nose to hear the double honorific, but did not say anything, she was too busy recovering her circulation. - Unfortunately we also do not have chairs in the dining room, - Jenny just grunted at the news – but today it's a beautiful day, so why don't you take your breakfast in the garden?, there you can sit more comfortably.

Jenny looked at him with curiosity, despite having lived there a few days; the layout of the temple still puzzled her. When they have told her she would be sent to a safe place, living in an old temple was the least she had expected, especially if it was a temple with a computer more powerful than anything she had use before. So she wondered...

- A garden? ... What kind of garden...?

Keiichi smiled at her discomfiture, as an answer he happily took the tray and directed the way.

Jenny could not help gasping as Keiichi opened the sliding door .It was very far from what she would have called "a garden": that motley collection of plants and grass from a Western garden. Yet garden or not, the place was beautiful. She had no way to know that place had been created by goddesses, as the original had been destroyed during the Battle of the temple. But even she, a committed materialist could feel there was something special in the place. There were not many plants, but they had an exquisite harmony. The place had rocks arranged with a soothing design and also there was a stretch of sand with mysterious drawings. Somehow there was magic in the air and Jenny soon forgot her sore back and cramped legs. Keiichi led her to the foot of a tree and there he placed the breakfast tray, she sat up and began to devour the food feeling renewed by the place. When she finished she felt the influence of the place and in magical way ideas began to surface in her mind. She was lost in her toughs but then remembered where she was, she told Keiichi:

- Thanks, the breakfast was delicious, now I must get back to work on... - she looked inside the temple and remembered the uncomfortable desk, then she looked around and wished to stay there but her mind was spilling with new information that needed to be captured, inspired by the peace and magic of this place.

Keiichi saw her internal conflicts, and perhaps because he was happy at the prospect of talking to Belldandy, he made a decision that would bring unexpected consequences. He mentally called Galileo. By now he did not need any device to communicate with him, the could share his mind with him.

- Galileo, have you seen the work that Rosenthal San is doing -. Galileo's voice softy echoed in his mind.

- Yes, they are quite advanced ideas, but with your primitive tools I don't think she can go far away.

- Could you do for her what you did with me? To install in her routines that would allow her to communicate directly with the computer? You can even help her with her work, so she can stay here. Belldandy will try to communicate with me and I need to be alone in my room.

- Keiichi san, There is no problem; I am certain she will be much more efficient.

Now Keiichi spoke to Jenny.

- Don´t worry, you do not need to return to the room, you can work from here. It can be arranged. I feel this place can give you inspiration for your work. If you approve it, Galileo can make some adjustments, you may fell something strange but please do not panic.

Jenny looked at him puzzled, she had already met the artificial intelligence called Galileo, but was completely unaware of his capabilities, and she had just regarded it as an interesting exercise in AI. And why on earth she would panic... She looked around and decided the only thing she was afraid of, was Keiichi´s Desk.

- mmh.. Ok, Do whatever you need to. Anything except to work on that...

She opened her mouth to say something, but she simply froze. A soft light enveloped her from the cell phone she was carrying, by now Galileo could now use as a base any device connected to the network and use it in amazing ways. Jenny appeared to be petrified, when suddenly the light disappeared and she moved again. Never knowing something had happened, yet blinked and looked around.

Keiichi could see information screens materializing around her. He knew only the two of them could see them since they only existed in their minds, but no matter, for them, they were real.

Jenny extended a hand and realized she could control the screen. She put her attention on another and started to explore it´s functions and modules. Keiichi guessed Galileo was guiding her. Keiichi peek at the last screen and recognize advanced simulation models that could allow her to test her theories and equations... Keiichi began to wonder if he had done right. Jenny on the other hand had discovered that information seemed to go straight from her brain to the computer and it answered all her wishes. Her face was now flooded with an expression of almost childlike curiosity and immediately she began to attempt to manipulate everything. Fascinated by the results she soon began to explore the rest of the modules while in her head Galileo´s voice spoke softly guiding her through them.

Keiichi smiled at the girl, she seemed like a child who had discovered so many wonders, but his expression gradually began to change to one of amazement when he noticed how fast the girl was learning to handle the complex interface and soon she began to explore a world of complex equations and concepts that he could hardly understand. He considered himself a very competent engineer, but soon he saw the difference between an expert engineer and a simple genius. That girl could soar through concepts of dimensions, time and space that he could never dream to understand

**- End of chapter XXXV-**

* * *

**Notes:**

After reviewing my notes about the characters for the story, I realized that due their numbers it's easy to forget who is who, so I decided to post here some of my notes on each one. They are not exhaustive, but I hope they are interesting enough and make easier to follow the story.

I divide them in mortals, gods, demons and software:

* * *

**Mortals:**

• **Kenji Shugahara:** Specialist on ethno botanical Studies related to European traditions, with diverse knowledge on ancient Norman, and related European languages, also has knowledge on folk medicine, some stereochemistry, and any other topic that inspires his curiosity. His immense enthusiasm and persuasiveness allow him to convince many people to cooperate with him allowing him to accomplish goals that could never achieve alone, his studies take him to learn the old myths about goddess Urth and somehow get in love with her. He works at the University of Chiba, he is about 32 years and it's the author of several popular books.  
**Note:** this is a fictional character, which has no relationship with the professor of the same name that works at the Chiba University...

• **Professor Shubashini Sripathi - **Professor of medicine and Ethnobotany, at Bombay University, he meets Dr Shugahara as member of the society of primates.

• **Somasindhu Parthasarathi**. A young Hindu from the untouchable caste, with an extraordinary innate ability to heal by understanding the origins of sickness, hi dreams to become a doctor. He witnesses the death of the goddess Giörel. His memory was erased by the Valkyrie, but the magic from Giörel tears in her presentation card allowed him to remember everything, he decides to publish his story on a blog where it´s discovered by professor Shubashini Sripathi who in turn informs Shugahara.

• Professor **Jan Krogh Danielsen**, he works at the University of Oslo, he is a specialist in old European languages. He is in charge of digital reconstruction of Urth´s palimpsest. As a descendant of the almost legendary Widuking the Saxon, has a striking resemblance to Fafnir, his family kept many manuscripts and materials from Urth´s Sisterhood for centuries.

• **Fafnir**, it´s the nickname after which hid his identity Duke Bruno Sachsen, the last children of Widuking the Saxon. He becomes a ruined noble by Charlemagne invasion, he wandered around Jutland dreaming someday to regain his status, and there he met goddess Urth. Both fell in love but were separated when Urth broke havens laws trying to save Fafnir´s live. Urth left him for dead and for that reason she was filled with bitterness so she became a rebellious and cynical goddess. Fafnir survived and banded together the Urd´s sisterhood and preserved her notebook, he finally leaved instructions to the descendants of his family to give the surviving medallions and her notes if she ever returned to earth.

• **Mai-m-mîn,** he is the village leader and shaman of the Mîr people there are less than a hundred people, they are the survivors of the first people who lived in India. They most coveted secret was guarding one of the Hild's tears. It was the first contact Shugahara had with the legends about Hild.

• **Yukiko ****Ohta**, She is associate professor, and specialist in physic of condensed matter. She is a woman of about 40 years, rarely wears makeup and her hair is arranged in a severe cut, she is a tireless worker and her severity it's only apparent**.**

• **Takashi Yoshida**, Associate Researcher, he works in the area of high energy physics, he 25 years old, he uses a bright and colorful shirt, jeans and long hair, as many mathematical and theoretical young scientists. He is a person with an easy laugh, and feels powerfully attracted to Ghadril the Valkyrie .

• **Shigeru Nakayama**, Associate Researcher, works in the area of nanoscience, he is a taciturn people, about 35 years old he is tall and formal attitude, but can change to a child like attitude when founds something interesting.

• Professor **Yoichiro Nambu** Nobel prize in physics, he former member of the physics department of the Tokyo University and founding member of the LHC, currently he teachers at Chicago University and he is Jenny Rosenthal supervisor.

• **Jenny Rosenthal**. She is a brilliant American student. She is a 21 years old physics graduate working toward her doctoral grade. She feels like a misunderstood genius though his supervisor, Professor **Yoichiro Nambu,** is very well aware of her capabilities. Her genius led her to be able to duplicate and optimize the crystals that are the basis of Urd´s magic potions, and gives mortals access to a terrible source of power. When that information is leaked out she is kidnapped by a group of terrorists that wish to use her knowledge for destructive purposes. She is addicted to coffee and has little regard to her superiors. She fells attracted romantically to Jean Valois

• **Jean ****Valois**. Former member of the French army, discharged with honors after he suffered combat wounds in Afghanistan and now works as a skilled bodyguard for a security firm. For his ability he is assigned to take care of VVIPs. Originally he was an idealist but was beaten by the reality of war, which made him a pragmatist who only does the job. After meeting Jenny Rosenthal and her potential importance to the future of humanity he will return to his youthful ideals.

• **Dr Adlene Hervieux**. He was born in a small town in one of the former French colonies. He starts his career as a young genius that manages to enter the world of science in spite of coming from a very poor background. He becomes a brilliant scientist whose political activism takes him to jail where he is rescued by CERN´s director. His crime was a series of letter to the public where he denounced abuses against his people and having an exchange of emails with a man who turned out to be a suspected terrorist. After obtaining his freedom, his frustration and his activism led him to fall into the clutches of a terrorist group who were using his relatives as hostages to force him to act and betray CERN´s director.

• **Dr. Edoardo Amaldi**. CERN Director and close friend of Dr Yoichiro Nambu. A successful scientist with great a political skill, he does not hesitate to use it in order to maintain the CERN working with the right resources. A pragmatic and with great ability to assess people´s capabilities. After rescuing Dr Adlene Hervieux from prison because he recognizes his work as a scientist, he knows he cannot fully trust him so he orders to the IT manager to monitor his activities. That lets him to know about his betrayal. He shares Dr Shugahara vision on the need to reveal to the world the existence of gods and demons, but also is aware of how dangerous it could be.

• **Dr Izuka Kawazu,** Founder of the Fuzzy Logic Institute. Specialist in neural networks and artificial intelligence systems, Skuld is one of his fans, so Shugahara arranges her to meet him. Dr Kawazu recognizes that Skuld has extraordinary knowledge and gets her to reveal some knowledge of the technology from the gods.

• **The man with the beard**. An anonymous terrorist, he is a ruthless and cruel man. He is the result of a childhood full of injustices and he thinks the only path to follow is violence, his true identity is unknown but has great influence among other terrorist groups .After Hervieux leaks information he orders to kidnap Jenny Rosenthal in order to be able to use her knowledge and get a weapon of mass destruction.

* * *

**some minor**** characters**:

• **Dr Leon Jorge Rivera**. A minor character. He manages a small archaeological museum in Mexico City. He helps Dr Shugahara to retrieve one of Hild´s tears.

• **Dr Shinobu Kitayama**. A real scientist. Specialist in the study of happiness.

• **Sir Richard Evans Schultes, **he is a real person (now deceased) but I took some dramatic liberties in this story. He is the founder of the science of Ethnobotany and was proud both of his Ph D and his Shaman title, so he would have been fascinated with Urd's potions.

• **Amasima**. He is an Amazonian Shaman who is cured from an incipient cancer by Dr Shugahara.

• **Giorgio Vaglia**, He began his career as a photographer of wildlife documentaries, but now he is using his experience to be able to hide and watch the strangest of all animals: humans. He is now a freelance photographer specialized in conflicts in remote locations.

• **Vincenzo ****D'Angelo**. Successful editor of a news agency, his star photographer is Giorgio Vaglia. He has hi offices in Milan and he is a workaholic. He has a high school daughter and New Age fan. Despite having a high ethical standard, he does have no doubts at bending some rules for having first rate news.

* * *

**Computers and Software:**

• **Predictive defense software ADX-654**. It´s a process generated by another task of the ADX software series. It was spawned to keep the information safe from attack and founds refuge in Keiichi computer; however it was damaged and had incomplete encrypted data so it cannot retrieve it´s memories. Due to the damage in its code, this artificial intelligence began to developed conscience. It recognized Keiichi as its Sysop until it is given the status of free individual under the name of Galileo. He also accepts the three robotics law by Asimov.

• **Nidhogg it's** the supercomputer from hell, and Yggdrasil twin

• **Yggdrasil. **The vast supercomputer that controls all aspects of the universe of gods, also provides them with energy and power, it also has some control of aspects of the humans universe.

**Gods:**

• **Giörel:** Goddess First Class, a young goddess. She has just finished her training. She admires Belldandy and tries to emulate her, she even dreams to fall in love to a mortal. Her first work was at the goddesses support Office. On her first assignment granting wishes she was attacked and killed by monstrous being from unknown origin. It´s her death what prompts Shugahara to seek "power" to protect Urd, and in turn he discovers Hild´s tears.

• **Ghadril,** A Valkyrie member of the main elite squad she gets romantically involved with Professor Takashi Yoshida therefore she requests stay on the mortal world to observe the flow of his entire mortal life to preserve his memory. This takes her to know the heart of mortals and that knowledge allowed her to intervene in a profound way on them.

• **Chrono**. It´s based on the original character. She was a second class Goddess who worked under the orders of Peorth overseeing the operation of Yggdrasil, and then she requested to be a Valkyrie, despite being so young, Lind approved her and eventually selected her as her aid at the Elite squad. When the Ragna code was invoked and the chain of command of the Valkyrie is broken, she is temporary selected by Belldandy to take command of the elite squad, even if there were other Valkyrie of higher rank.

• **Othala.** Along with Lind, she is one of the oldest Valkyrie at the elite squad, her position as healer, her friendship with Lind and her seniority allows her to express her points of view and discuss matters more freely than the rules would allow a Valkyrie.

• **Herja, Oth, Rota, Alruna and Eir**. Along with Lind they were part of the supreme council of Valkyrie, but were executed as a result of the activation of Ragna protocol at Lind´s request.

• **Thrud, **a young third-class recruit and aspiring Valkyrie**.** Despite being a new entrants, because the cool head and their ability to react to the crisis, Lind designates her as commander of the third phylum of recruits,

• **Chancellor Myr:** one of the architects of Yggdrasil. He is a reluctant member of the High council, because he does not like the responsibilities, he prefers to assign them if possible to other people, acting only as a "consultant". He is brother and rival of Chancellor Tyr, to whom had an antagonistic relationship, not only for having a completely an opposite word vision, but because he loved the same goddess, Belldandy's mother.

• **Chancellor Tyr**. He is Belldandy father, unlike his brother Myr; he has no doubts to use power as a means of achieving their goals. Since in the original OMG, never had stated that Belldandy's father was Kamisama I chose him to be just a high level god. Later in the OMG universe we learned that Belldandy's father is not Kamisama but the Daitenkaicho. Tyr has a plan to unify heaven and hell, and has no doubt in manipulating the ones he profess to love: Hild, Belldandy, Urd , Skull and Belldandy's mother, but his untimely death prevented him to accomplish it, yet he hid avatars into the Norns , and they attempt to accomplish his original plans.

* * *

**Demons:**

• **Marler**. I took some departures from the original character. She is a first class Demon, Urd´s childhood friend and Hild´s close collaborator. Hild gave him the mission of caring for Urd, and that no one should knew of her actions, which led her to play the part of a foolish and inept demon. After she helps to save Hild´s life she is designated Hild's Druhting (Steward).

• **Anang Rah**: a second class demon, son of sheik Anang -Reng. His fascination with mortals took him to know Marler, who was allocated to live in the mortal world and shared his fascination. That allowed him to stop feeling contempt for mortals. He was attracted by Marler, despite the low opinion in general demons had about her. He lead a faction of demons loyal (with some reservations) to Hild, despite her being the hated rival of his father. He died after being selected for the doublet system for execution due the death of the goddess Giörel. His death convinces Marler to bring his posthumous message to Hild as a way to convince her to get in touch with his followers. This will save Hild´s life and eventually lead to a different attitude from Hild towards her people

• **Anang-Reng**. He holds the title of Shaik, one of the lider of the Great Council lf Hell, the Shaik are next in hierarchy after Hild. The title is hereditary, yet it has to be ratifying by merits in combat. He is the most powerful of the Shaik and his power is almost at par with Hild. He is not happy with the current peace with heaven, so he wishes to overturn Hild to get the title of Daimakaicho. He died in a duel with Hild (She almost died) but his conscience was preserved by a strange and hostile entity.

• **Walharen**, third class demon, a bright and intelligent assistant to Nidhogg Sysop. While he is very good at his work, he aspires to the most prestigious occupation in hell: warrior. But despite having good performance in his tests, his boos blocks him for that position, because he is really the one that knows about Nidhogg. His knowledge of the system allows him to help to save Hild's life, after that Hild promotes him as the new supervisor of Nidhogg and considers him a trustworthy demon-

• **Bragg,** a member of Hild's elite guard. Like all elite guards, he was magically transformed from a common demon into a powerful being hypertrophied muscles, with immunity to most magical attack and had a loyalty spell that impairs his ability to think except on matters related to his duty. As one of the most skilled guards in combat, he was assigned to protect the young princess Urd when she lived in the great palace, until he was wounded during an attempt to kill Urd, and was replaced by another guard. Upon Urd returning to the palace, he asks for his old assignment and Hild granted his petition... He is under a loyalty spell which limits his ability to think but the spell is broken by Urd with a potion. It is extremely protective toward his "little Princess" and does not hesitate to sacrifice his life for her.

• **Woddin or ****Wotan**. A peaceful specialist in ancient magical songs (an area much unappreciated by demons) but really a strong Hild´s supporter, and hidden admirer. As a child Urd disliked him so much that as a joke she used him to create the stories about Odin (Woddin), and thus creating the Norse mythology. At her return to Hell, Urd discovers that behind his peaceful appearance he is one of the most powerful demons, who is only interested in the welfare his world and thinks Hild, with all her quirks, is still the best option. In order to support her, he pretends to be a harmless absentminded pompous old demon.

• **Shulgi an Ekur**. Originally they were to low rank demon bureaucrats that assisted the Palace librarian, yet they volunteer to help Hild to retake her palace. Because Urd needed them to have authority over the reserve guard, she named them temporarily as Supreme commanders of the army of Hell. Hild subsequently would ratify them in office for their services.

• **Hjörþrimul, Sanngríðr and Svipul.** They're the name and code of three leaders of the reserve guard maintained in suspension in the deepest underground of Hild´s Palace. Their name was a secret so nobody could use them, except Hild, who taught their names as song to Urd, without telling her it´s meaning


End file.
